


Animal Magnetism

by callmeakumatized



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien knows Ladybug is Marinette, Adrinette, Animal Magnetism, Awkwardness, Chat Doesn't Know How to Handle a Flirty Ladybug, Eventual Romance, Eventual reveal, F/M, Fluff, Healing, Humor, Kissing, LadyNoir - Freeform, Marichat, Marinette is All Over Adrien and Can't Figure Out Why, Partnership, Psychology and Miraculous Magic, Self-Discovery, Some DJ/WiFi, Some Serious Silliness, Teasing, ladrien, lots of fluff, probably, probably angst, working together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2018-12-26 00:36:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 33,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12047640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callmeakumatized/pseuds/callmeakumatized
Summary: "Animal magnetism, noun."1. the power to attract others through one's physical presence, bearing, energy, etc."2. the indefinite power, presumably innate in some persons, that enables one to induce hypnosis."Marinette finished reading and warily turned her eyes toward Tikki, and then to Chat.She regretted it at once."I may not be much of a farmer," Chat started. "But I do seem to be a bit of a chick magnet."Marinette closed her eyes in dim frustration."You know, magnetsrepeljust as much as theyattract."Adrien did feel bad, really. But who would complain when the love of your life is suddenly hanging all over you?





	1. "Did you return your books late? 'Cause you've got 'FINE' written all over you."

**Author's Note:**

> Rated 'T' for kissing scenes. Grade 'A' "clean" otherwise, yo. 8)

The sunlight filtered through the tall windows, dousing the bleak light of the library in morning light. The dust particles floated lazily like morning mist on a warm day. For all the vexations of this assignment, of being forced into this place for school purposes, the two teens sharing the space couldn't help being somewhat enchanted by the atmosphere. Marinette put her free hand into one of the rays, flicking her wrist slowly, watching the disturbed specks flutter in ethereal circles. Her other hand held her tired head, sluggish eyelids blinking above watery eyes.

Another yawn escaped, but it wasn't from her. When Marinette looked over at her partner, she saw moisture gathering in his own eyes as he stretched toward the ceiling, all pretense of "model behavior" gone with the tired action. The sight brought a smile to Marinette's lips…and  _another_ blush to her cheeks.

Taking advantage of his diverted eyes, Marinette pulled her hands to her cheeks, patting them hotly, wishing the betraying expression to vanish. It was a futile effort, but her nature quite often demanded action, useless or no. She didn't see Adrien's eyes turn to her until a chuckle from across the table necessitated her attention. Adrien was smiling, a tiredness in his eyes.

"Tired too?" he mumbled, another yawn, albeit smaller, pulling out from him.

"Mmm…" was all Marinette could utter. She didn't trust her words at the best of times, and a tired Marinette was even more of a weirdo than a fully-awake Marinette. She didn't want to take chances at actually formulating a response.

She was lost again to the ambience of her surroundings as she watched Adrien. Two years had been insufficient time to be used to his presence, to get used to  _the_ presence that was  _him_. Gall, it sounded cheesy even to  _her_  – and she knew  _cheesy_ , thanks to Chat. There was something that had grown between them, though…some semblance of friendship. It wasn't from a lack of trying on his part, really; he did try to make conversation. But Marinette, while her stuttering had all but cured, still became markedly flustered when she was within the same vicinity as her current desk partner. Frustration didn't even cover the feeling of wanting to move on from this point.

And it was true for both of them, unbeknownst to either.

Adrien glanced at Marinette for the fourth time in the last five minutes. He had gathered as many books as he could make an excuse to get, trying in both parts to stay awake and stay mentally sober. Because sitting and watching Marinette, especially in this sleepy state, was making him close to losing consciousness. She had resumed playing in the fluttering light, and he could only stare as the small smile touched her lips again. That smile that he adored so much. The smile he had grown to lo- _like_ so much. The smile that he caught on Marinette multiple times…and then had appeared on Ladybug just last night.

This morning?

What was it? He couldn't remember the time.

He shifted again, completely uncomfortable in his crawling skin. The want – the  _need_ – to just… _touch_ her was stronger than he had anticipated. Thankful for the public area rather than something more  _intimate_ –

_NO, no, HAHA_ NOT  _intimate. That was the, er, wrong word_ ….

Adrien's leg shook under the desk while his face set itself aflame again. He covered his face with his hands. A breath he didn't realize he'd been holding puffed out with more force than he had anticipated. He tried to switch gears, tried desperately to get  _her_ out of his mind.

A stupid endeavor, really.

Instead, his mind floated back to the events of the pre-dawn morning.

The Akuma had sucked all the happiness that could have been a restful slumber out into the streets of Paris. And a bedhead Chat Noir (hardly a difference, really, to his normal Chat hair), and a fluttery-haired Ladybug jumped from building to building, silent, waiting for a moment to strike rather than immediately make their presence known. When they had finished, Chat quipped a pun. It was a pretty bad one ( _"Sleep comes so naturally to me, I could do it with my eyes closed."_ ), and when he'd gone for a fist bump the next second, he was especially surprised to see a giggling Ladybug. A hand was pressed to her mouth, eyes gazing away from him. And when he looked more carefully, there it was… _that_ smile. Hair down (a mess, but still beautiful), small smile, mirth-filled eyes, dainty frame….

It reminded him of his Princess.

And when he had decided to stop by Mari's house to see if she was, well,  _there_ …

…he  _totally by accident_ saw Ladybug drop into the skylight just a pink flashed shown through the windows. And when he peeked in his normal window he used for spying – no,  _observation_  – he saw Marinette and a little red… _Kwami_. He had nearly passed out. Instead, he just dropped to the concrete sidewalk below her window. And laid there. For quite a while.

The, um,  _observation_ (NOT STALKING) of his classmate of two years had begun the year before. She was cute, sure. He had admitted  _that_ point to himself when he had first met her. But it was Nino's pointed (and somewhat  _incensed_ ) confession of Marinette's crush on him that had kickstarted his true stalki– _observation_ stage. He had dropped in on her as Adrien and as Chat just for further  _OBSERVATION_ points (whether she, er, knew he was there or not) and got to know his classmate  _quite well_.

(Fun fact he had learned…being Chat gave him absolutely  _no enhanced skills_ on Mecha Strike III.)

He gulped slightly, wide-eyed, he realized he was  _actually_ staring at the big blue eyes he had been daydreaming about when she suddenly flicked her eyes on him. She did a double-take. She had caught him staring.

Their cheeks collectively flushed.

The red close to her blue eyes was even further confirmation of the superheroine alter-ego, as if he needed it.

"I, uh…" Adrien started, scratching the back of his head. "I f-found a passage here that is pretty interesting."

"Oh, y-yeah?" Marinette answered dumbly, mentally scolding herself for her darned stuttering making an appearance.

Adrien grinned then. "Yeah." His smirk suddenly turned mischievous,  _Chat_ -like, and Marinette wasn't sure if she wanted to smile back or run away. Since she didn't trust the use of her legs, she settled on the first option. Though she was sure it came out like a poorly-painted china doll.

"It's how to hypnotize someone," Adrien continued, giving Marinette an eyebrow waggle.

"BAH HA HOW INTERESTING!" Marinette said loudly, nervousness taking over. She punched herself with her own fist for a moment before trying to continue, despite Adrien's laughter. "I take it you found something on Mesmer, then?"

Adrien nodded.

"Well, you certainly collected have enough books there."

Ah…so she  _had_ noticed his many,  _many_ trips into the bookcases to try to "find books" (clear his head).

Adrien flushed.

Marinette flushed.

Adrien flushed further.

"Ok, sassy-pants," Adrien returned to his previous stance, dropping his (burning) face into his hands, staring at the relatively volume in front of him. He studied the page for another moment. He wasn't sure when he had actually picked up this particular book…and then he remembered, smiling to himself. It was not just another boring book  _about_ the psychologists they were researching, but a How-To. When he finished his mental discussion, the actual words that came out were messy, face stretched by his palms. But a new, smirk-y, smarmy confidence touched every part of him, chasing (slightly) away the uneasiness and awkwardness floating around them like the dust.

"So do you want to hear it or not?"

"Hit me."

Adrien chanced a glance up at her. Her voice had sounded muffled, and now he knew why: her face was buried in her arms.

"Are you going to stay awake?" He chuckled fondly.

"No promises."

_Perfect_.

"Oh, before we start, do you have any mental problems?"

Marinette's glaring eyes peeped at him through her crossed arms.

"Ok, ok! The book said I had to check." She rolled her eyes before dropping her head back down. Adrien cleared his throat of nothing in particular. "Heh, well, here goes:

" _Mesmer was most famous for taking the ideals of Joseph Philippe Francois Deleuze and putting them into a successful practice. Many people, psychologists and plebeians alike, sought out to follow is Mesmer's footsteps. They called themselves Mesmerists, or Mesmeriseurs…" BLAH BLAH BLAH…_ Adrien skimmed until he got to the good stuff. ' _Want to hypnotize your friends? Try these basic 5 steps and watch your friends became dazed under your direction!'_ The next part read, but Adrien left that part out, grinning inwardly. If this worked, Ladybug was going to  _kill_ him. But, Adrien didn't think it would work, and he thought the risk  _faaar_ outweighed the reward if it did.

Adrien skimmed the text quickly, adlibbing past the "Step 1s" and going straight for the steps themselves.

" _Let my words wash over you..._ "

Marinette snorted.

"That's what the book says just listen!" Adrien spat before trying again. " _Let my words wash over you, and take the suggestions as you desire them._

" _Everything here is safe, calm, and peaceful. Let yourself sink into the chair as you relax deeply_."

A brow on Adrien raised when Marinette seemed to slump slightly in her chair. He let his voice get lower, more drawling, almost like a whisper.

" _Your eyes may feel heavy and want to close. Let your body sink naturally down as your muscles relax. Listen to your body and my voice as you begin to feel calm_."

The blush stole across Adrien's face at this and he tried to keep his tone and  _not_ clear his throat. Marinette didn't move.

" _You are in complete control of this time. You will only accept those suggestions which are for your benefit and that you are willing to accept._ "

" _Now, take a_ _ **deep breath**_ …"

Simultaneously, the two teens inhaled deeply.

"… _and release_."

At the release, his classmate sat up brusquely. The sudden movement made Adrien jump. Her eyes were almost closed. She appeared to be in a straight-up trance. Adrien just stared, a guilty feeling overtaking him immediately.

_Crap. Crap crap crap crap crap._

He leaned over the table and waved his hand in front of her face. She seemed to wince a bit, pulling her head dangerously away from the movement. That was a good sign, right? Right!? Adrien grimaced and bit his lip. Marinette's eyes started to close without him saying anything, and he relaxed a little. She was probably just  _exhausted_  –  _he_ certainly was, and she had worked just as hard if not harder than he did in the bleak hours of the morning. Marinette was just…falling asleep! On her own.

Adrien jumped again when a  _very ladylike_ snore broke through the silence. Adrien snorted involuntarily, hands clasping over his mouth to stop the sound. She  _was_ asleep! But her eyes were still open! Oh, gall, this was  _hilarious_. Still bent over the table toward her, Adrien slowly and silently pulled out his phone.

_Oh my gosh, this is too perfect_.

After Marinette's impromptu photo shoot (she was going to  _kill_ him, he was sure), Adrien started recording a video.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty," he started, chuckling uncontrollably when she snored again, head wobbling from hanging on her chest to her neck. "Someone's a sleepy little princess today." Adrien leaned in closer. "Oh gosh, her eyes are still open! Princess, shut your eyes!" Adrien snickered again when Marinette batted away his hand that he reached out with to poke her awake. It was a fruitless battle; she was  _out_. After another minute. Adrien, still recording (this was too good not to), reached up and pulled her head down onto her sloppily-folded arms on the desk. His fingers traced their way down the skin on Marinette's face, drawing her eyelids closed with the movement. It was something his mother used to do with him when he had trouble sleeping.

Though the simple gesture tugged at his heart in  _many_ more ways than one, it seemed to do the trick. With a thump, gravity took Marinette the last three inches and her head smacked against her arms. Her head jolted back up for a moment, sleepy eyes fluttering.

"Shhh…." Adrien soothed, and he reached out with a hand, pulling it smoothly down her face again, closing her eyes for the second time. " _Sleep_."

Marinette settled after that.

And…slept for the next hour.

She was his lady, after all, and he wasn't going to disturb her slumber.

He didn't want  _too much_ of her wrath upon him.

And he only took a  _few_ more pictures of her.

Like twenty.

Because  _that_ wasn't creepy at  _all_.

Ten pages of notes, book references, and doodles later, Marinette still wasn't stirring. Not even after Adrien physically shook her, worrying that she might have died off in her sound slumber. Wanting to wake her up was close to the bottom of his list of things to do today, but he  _was_ getting bored. Bored enough to, after a straight half hour of message after message from Chloe, sighing and answering her.

**Chloe: Adrihoney if shes sleeping jus com overrrr**

**Adrien: I can't leave her. I don't want to.**

**Adrien: I'm getting work done anyway.**

**Chloe: OOoooooOooOo when? What would YOU need to get work done on?**

**Chloe: I mean MAYBE your chin but srsly dont let those ppl touch anything else**

**Adrien: Oh my gosh, Chloe, SCHOOL WORK.**

**Chloe: lol I know, dork just giving u a hard time**

**Adrien: ….**

**Chloe: u know u luv me xoxo**

At this, Adrien snorted.

"'Love me'…" he repeated out loud, shaking his head with a smile on his face.

Marinette shot up from her sleeping position so violently, Adrien nearly jumped out of skin. He  _did_ have to pick himself and his thrown phone off the floor. As he stood, rubbing his funny bone ( _not_ funny) he had hit on the way down, he looked over at Marinette…and was sorely tempted to take another picture.

A person can only drool so much before their entire notebook is stuck to their face.

Adrien had to look away, but he couldn't stop the laughter pouring out. Soon he was doubled over, and it was only worsened when he chanced a glance at Marinette – at wide-eyed, stock-still, completely  _oblivious_ Marinette.

When the librarian finally came over to scold him (Adrien was raucously loud now, but he couldn't help it), he tried to breath out a "sorry", but it came out as wheezes, and he could only point over to his desk mate as an offered explanation. Madame Librarian started, and Adrien looked up to see the middle-aged woman pursing her lips, obviously trying to hold in a laugh.

"Uh," she started, but had to "cough" several times before she was able to control the shaky giggles in her voice. Adrien lost it all over again. "Hon, you've, uh, you've got something…j-just there. On your f-f-f-face."

_SNORT_.

And Marinette blinked.

And Marinette shook her head, a confused look on her face.

And then Marinette felt her notebook start to fall off her face, and she reached for it, pulling it the rest of the way. She tried to ignore the long line of drivel tangled between her mouth and her notebook. It was a good thing Adrien had taken notes as well…because hers were gone.

"Young man," the librarian had turned away from Marinette, and she could only guess why. "I really am sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to either calm down or leave.

"Mari," Adrien gasped out, breathless, unable to straighten up fully, but pulling books and things into his backpack. "M-Meet me outside, k?" And with that, he was gone.

Marinette wondered what the heck was going on…

…and then it just got weirder.

As Adrien walked away, she felt a distinct pull toward him, like a physical string was tied around her being connecting her to him. When he rounded the corner, Marinette yelped as she fell out of her chair. She hadn't realized she had been leaning that far in her chair, angled completely toward Adrien.

And now that he was gone, his absence really  _was_ a tangible pain, an ache inside her.

She had had a crush on him for two years, sure, but she never felt it like  _this_  before. It was almost as if she was being denied a basic need for existence, and she gasped for breath, clutching a hand to her chest.

"Sweetie," the librarian said more gently. "You should, uh, probably go clean off your face in the bathroom…."

_I'm kinda in the middle of a_ crisis  _here!_

_…Why? What's on my face?_

When Marinette raced into the bathroom a minute later, she saw what was on her face. It was her notes. Her penned notes had apparently bled due the salivation emitted from her sleeping mouth and had tattooed themselves on her face. Letting a loud groan escape, Marinette dragged a hand down her face while closing her eyes.

Ten minutes and some furious scrubbing later (involving, perhaps, a fiasco in the form of a broken paper towel roll and a now-clogged sink), Marinette emerged outside, red-faced from a sound scrubbing and a good dose of embarrassment.

Adrien was there, but hadn't noticed her yet. He leaned against the wall, a laughing smile still playing on his lips. He seemed to be scanning through something funny on his phone. When his smirk wasn't directed  _at_ her, she found it quite…endearing? She wasn't sure if that was the right word. It was playful, and somewhat uncharacteristic for the front he normally put on.

Without warning, that pull Marinette had felt inside the library started up again. There were no barriers this time, and Adrien was standing right  _there_. Her face flushed, but she walked steadily up to him. A burning sensation sparked in her chest, and immediately her breathing quickened. Long lost words to some unknown rock anthem thrummed in her mind, her quick-paced heart providing the steady beat she knew would never die down. Not now. Not while he was there.

Even when she was so close to him she was almost touching him, it still didn't quell the unquenchable burning in her bones. Something inside her pulled her almost greedily closer. The more  _sane_ part of her brain reminded her over and over again how she was supposed to be  _shy_ , how she had a  _crush_ on this boy and she should be batting her eyes or something of the like, not  _being completely forward and irresponsible_.

And then she heard someone laughing in her mind –  _herself_.

_I'm. Ladybug._

Adrien jumped for the third time that day when Marinette's touch was on his arm. Though he jumped back at least a few feet, Marinette stayed with him, a fiery look in her eyes, and…dare he say it? A  _smirk_ on her face. Adrien thought he might pass out.

"Whatcha got there?" she hummed to him, the ferocity behind her eyes playing a dangerous game with the sugary-sweet tone she used to almost whisper to him. She wrapped her arm through his as she pulled in closer, looking down at the phone in his hand.

Adrien realized  _faaarrr_ too late that he really shouldn't let her see what he was looking at.

"Uh…"

"Oh, Adrien," she mumbled, and the blond boy felt his face heat up beyond normal fever temperatures, he was sure. "Are they  _all_ of me?"

Marinette giggled, pulling the phone from his hand, brushing his fingers as she did so.

Adrien died. At least, that's what he felt like  _must_ have happened. Or he had been struck by an Akuma. Or thrust into some parallel universe, because this could  _not_ be reality, could NOT BE HAPPENING RIGHT NOW–

Marinette burst out in laughter just then, drawing his attention back to his current predicament (as if his mind weren't already reeling from the situation, but now he had something to focus on).

Yeah, they were all pictures of her.

And he thought she was going to kill him for taking all of those really,  _really_ embarrassing photos.

Though, as he thought about it, it really seemed, at the moment, that the photos were more embarrassing for  _him_ that for her.

_Huh. Go figure._

"Haha!" Marinette leaned into him more as she laughed again, this time at the most recent picture, a drool-y face with pen marks trailing over her right cheek. "Oh, gall! I don't know if the picture really does it justice. Man, when I saw myself in the bathroom…" She looked up at him then. She was on his right side, and, in order to fully show him her brightly scrubbed right cheek, she took a step closer and turned slightly into him. Adrien was close to hyperventilating, and he wondered for one wild and crazy moment if she  _knew_ who he was and was paying him back for every flirt, every pun, every misstep he had ever made in his life.

It wasn't that the contact was unenjoyable.

The problem was that it was anything  _but_.

"Did I get it all off?" Marinette whispered, and Adrien felt a shiver flow through his spine. But he forced himself to start  _responding_ , actually be  _engaged_ in the conversation. At least enough that she would hopefully initiate this contact again.

"Yeah," he replied, squeakily.

_Hot, Agreste. So suave. Mucho suavisimo. Slow clap for you._

He nearly gritted his teeth in his massive, one-second-long fight within himself.

_I am CHAT NOIR! I EAT SUAVE FOR BREAKFAST_.

_Channel the Chat_.

"Yeah," he repeated, thankful she hadn't moved during his lingering  _two_ -second-long inward battle. "It looks purrrr-fect."

Marinette whipped her eyes up to his immediately and he regretted every single decision he had made in the last ten years, wondering what he had done so wrong – and so  _right_ – to deserve the look she was throwing at him in that moment.

"That was probably the hottest thing you have ever said to me."

Oh. Oh gosh.

He couldn't do it. The edges of his vision were darkening. He was going to pass out.

And then the irony of the whole thing seemed to catch up to him (pun ABSOLUTELY intended).

Ladybug hated puns.

But Marinette l-l-l-liked them?

There was too much thought process here, and Adrien's brain had short-circuited a long,  _long_ time ago.

Marinette, though, seemed to be a livewire.

He dared to look down at her again, having been trying to dart his eyes anywhere –  _anywhere_ – but at her shining face, her so,  _so_ devious eyes. His chest tightened, and so did his grip on her arm.

_Wait, when did_ that  _happen!?_

And then she was angling her face toward his…

And he knew he was a  _goner_.

_Looooong gone_.

And just as his lips brushed hers for the briefest of moments, he felt the smile form on them, felt a little burst of warm air blow out in the gentlest of laughs.

"Your ride's here," she whispered.

Adrien didn't really care.

He brushed his nose on hers for a moment, enjoying the feel of her biting her lower lip against his own. Without looking, without caring about anything else, Adrien moved his hand from her arm up to her shoulder to pull her closer, to close the gap…

But as soon as his hand touched her shoulder, she pulled away.

And Adrien was left standing, alone, blinking, trying not to fall over at the sudden lack of support at his side.

She was  _gone._

He was a deer in the woods that had missed all the hidden bear traps but had had a rope around his neck the whole time.

And didn't notice until the hunter herself tugged on the other end.

Adrien pulled at his collar subconsciously.

_Not a deer_ , he peptalked himself,  _a panther. A panther in the woods. Strong, lithe, cool–_

Stumbling on nothing, Adrien tripped into the door with a sound  _smack_. He rubbed his head furiously before clambering into the vehicle. No words were exchanged, and Adrien was thankful, not for the first time, for the Gorilla's silence on all matters, both to him, and to his father or Nathalie.

As the car pulled away, Adrien watched out the window as a red figure yo-yoed away, a familiar backpack on her back.

qpqpqpqpqp

Fifteen minutes later, Marinette and Adrien, in separate rooms, at separate houses in Paris, flung themselves on their own beds and internally screamed the same thought:

_WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED!?_


	2. “Why was Pavlov’s hair so soft?” “….” “Classical conditioning…ba-dum, tss!”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously:  
>  _"'Love me'…" he repeated out loud, shaking his head with a smile on his face._  
>  Marinette shot up from her sleeping position so violently, Adrien nearly jumped out of skin.  
> ...  
>  _And just as his lips brushed hers for the briefest of moments, he felt the smile form on them, felt a little burst of warm air blow out in the gentlest of laughs._  
>  "Your ride's here," she whispered.  
> ...  
> Solve the equation:  
> Accidental Hypnosis + Miraculous Magic x Teenage Hormones = ...?  
> ...  
> Ivan Pavlov? That name rings a bell....

"Really, Marinette," Tikki lightly scolded, crossing her little Kwami stubs-for-arms. "Don't you think you should back away from the window just a  _bit_?"

_Well, yeah_ … _but…_  Marinette thought to herself. Instead of responding, however, she merely shifted, and rather uncomfortably at that. The position she was in was a tight spot for two reasons: although she had beat the dead horse of a subject until it had died, been reborn, and died again in her brain, it was still a necessary conversation to continue with her Kwami, and she didn't like it. The other reason…she was in a really,  _really_ painful angle where she was, perched  _in_ and  _around_ one of the circular windows in her room. The window in the closest proximity to Adrien's house.

Her feet were almost above her, crossed and pressed painfully into the frame. From below, her left hand pulsed as it strained to keep her tangled body upright, neck and head at a wedged into the frame as almost a second thought. Her right elbow was squeezed into her stomach as she tried to write on the school tablet on her "lap"; it was nearly squished to her nose.

"Pfft," Marinette tried to ignore the spit now splattered across her tablet screen from her mocking sound. "I am, like,  _super_ comfortable here, Tikki…"

Tikki gave her a blank, disapproving stare. Marinette tried to mark something on her tablet. At the first touch, however, the strain proved to be too much. She and Tikki watched as the stylus popped out of her hand and landed on the floor.

"Ok, it's not exactly… _comfortable_ , but it's the only place where that, that stupid  _pull_ doesn't affect me so much!"

Tikki deflated a bit. She started darting back and forth, a nervous habit Marinette always found endearing in her little friend.

"Marinette, we really need to figure out what's going on with that."

"You don't think it could be an Akuma, do you, Tikki?"

Tikki smiled, more to herself, really, than to Marinette.

"No, Marinette, I definitely don't think it's an Akuma."

"Are you sure?" Marinette pushed. "A rogue one maybe? Or puberty? Maybe I'm not quite done with that yet…."

Marinette raised both eyebrows at the suddenly giggling Kwami.

_This was no laughing matter!_

"Ok, but Tikki!" Marinette shouted as Tikki started to laugh heartily. "What is up with me!? I mean, did you  _see_ what I did at the library? Do you  _see it!?_  UGH! I was  _not_ myself."

"Marinette, you know I was sleeping! And in your bag, too." Tikki swirled around now, and Marinette recognized her "pensive dance". "Was there anything you might have missed?  _Anything_ you haven't told me?"

Marinette bit her lip. There was a  _darn good amount of crap_ she hadn't told Tikki. Besides falling asleep randomly, drooling all over the place, and  _hitting_ on Adrien – well, that was putting it lightly – she hadn't spilled any more to her little partner.

Her face warmed when she thought of what she  _had_  done… _Oh gosh! Why had she done that!?_ She had been  _so close_ , so close to Adrien…so close to  _kissing_ Adrien….

The little imp on her shoulder patted her emphatically on the back when she remembered how Adrien hadn't pulled away. In fact, he seemed to rather enjoy it.

_"Oh, Marinette…_ "

She felt that sudden yank from that consistent, darned, pulling sensation that had plagued her incessantly since the library. Gritting her teeth, she tried to adjust, to stay upright, but ended up overcompensating…and abruptly fell out of her window.

"Oh! Marinette! Are you ok?"

Marinette shot Tikki finger guns from the floor.

"No, I'm not!" she said cheerily.

Tikki giggled again, and Marinette dropped her arms to rest over her face. A loud groan emitted from her downturned mouth.

"Maybe you should ask Chat to take over patrol tonight, Marinette."

This suggestion finally pulled a smile (was that a smile? It felt…weird…like a grimace…) from Marinette.

"And try to explain what's going on?" Marinette snorted. "No way."

"You could just tell him you're sick."

An innocent suggestion.

The little imaginary imp still on her shoulder suddenly looked a  _lot_ like Chat Noir.

He wiggled his eyebrows.

He winked.

"NOOOPE. NO! No way! H-He'd try to bring me soup or something." Marinette winced at the dumb excuse, then waved her hands back and forth in front of her face, searching for some sort of reasonable explanation while her little Ladybug  _finally_ made an appearance in her mind's eye and kicked Chat Noir off her shoulder. "And he'd, uh, w-worry about me the whole night."

Little imaginary Ladybug rolled her eyes.

_Rude_.

But Tikki couldn't argue with this statement.

So she didn't.

Instead, she flew down to her Charge and nuzzled her cheek until Marinette relaxed enough to giggle.

"Then let's get back to actually  _working_ on that homework, Marinette!"

qpqpqpqpqp

"Plagg, she is going to  _kill_ me!"

The black cat Kwami turned away from Adrien before he rolled his eyes. "Is anything I say going to help?"

"Does anything you say  _ever_ help!?" Adrien spat back angrily, pausing for only a moment in his pacing to glare at the back of Plagg's tiny head.

"No, yet you always insist on burdening me with your problems."

"Oh, Plagg, I didn't know they were a  _burden_." Adrien reached over and roughly rubbed the top of Plagg's head. A hiss came out as Plagg tried to bat away Adrien's fingers with a stubby paw while still gripping his camembert quite possessively. "I didn't know you  _cared_ so much." Adrien sneered before returning to his original course for the last hour: back and forth in front of his TV.

Plagg spun slowly around, pointedly making a show of eating his cheese wedge. Gooey, stinky crumbs flew in all directions, though Plagg made sure most of the mess went  _onto_  the couch.

"You're disgusting."

"Says the boy who  _broke_ Ladybug."

Adrien groaned noisily, pulling at his gelled hair. Despite the mess littering the surface, he flopped himself, corpse-like, onto the couch.

Corpse-like. 'Cause he was  _so. Dead._

"Oh, Marinette…what have I  _done_  to you?" His voice came out muffled, having shoved his face into the crack of the couch.

(Not far away, Marinette, at the mention of her name, fell out of her window.)

"So what are you going to do about it?"

Adrien shot up so fast it made Plagg jump (while in the air…it's a floaty-being thing, he can do it, really, it's a honed skill). He tried to jump over the couch but didn't quite clear it, landing himself in a sprawling mess on the floor. Plagg couldn't stop laughing.

"HAHA! No, kid, seriously, what are you doing!?"

"I'M TAKING A SHOWER."

"THAT CAN'T BE YOUR ANSWER TO EVERYTHING-!"

"LALALALA! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

While a growl came out of the trailing Kwami, a black shirt came flying out of the bathroom. An angry  _Meowl!_  told Adrien his aim was true.

Five minutes later, Plagg "accidentally" turned Adrien's water temperature to just below  _frigid_.

Pffft. Like he would even pretend it was an accident.

qpqpqpqpqp

_This is a bad idea_ , Ladybug thought to herself, laughing slightly.

_Like a really, REALLY bad idea_.

As her feet caught on the rough texture of the roof, she skidded to a stop. Patrol had been a bit of a joke; she  _should_  have called Chat, should have had him take care of it. She  _was_ sick. He  _should_ worry. All Ladybug accomplished was going around in a slowly decreasing spiral…around and around. And what was on the pivot? The Agreste mansion.

And now here she was, staring at the apex of her swirly patrol, and her spiraling-out-of-control sanity. The question of "why" didn't even bother to cross her mind anymore. That line of questioning had long since flown out the window. Along with her dignity.

Dusk was falling, and though the night sky had gathered around Adrien's windows, Ladybug saw a small light on, coming from the bathroom. And steam. He was taking a shower.

Another absolutely  _mad_ cackle bubbled out of Ladybug's throat unwarranted, and she collapsed into it, legs going into full Jell-o-mode.

Ladybug had a choice here. The pull toward this boy was almost  _agonizing_ , but so far she had been able to keep it at bay…at least somewhat. She was afraid of giving into it, even a little…like she was doing by just  _being_ here. If she gave in  _more_ …if she  _let_ it take over, didn't even try to fight anymore…well, she didn't know what would happen. And she didn't  _want_ to.

Right?

Little imaginary Imp-Chat wiggled his eyebrows again from behind Ladybug's shoulder.

Her splayed-fingered hand slapped down at the ground and Ladybug tried not to clutch at the concrete beneath. Her other spot-covered arm covering her eyes in a vain attempt at controlling this…whatever this was.

_I am Ladybug!_  she pep-talked herself,  _again_.  _I CAN FIGHT THIS! I FLIPPIN' FIGHT AKUMAS, A-AND BADDIES AND–_

Her arm lifted a fraction and she peeked out under her arm toward the window. After a moment, she sat up to get a better look.

_"It is useless to resist_ …."

When did Little Imp-Chat turn into Vader Chat?

_And how could Vader Chat still wiggle his eyebrows!?_

Ladybug giggled crazily again, laughing harder at her slow descent into the  _Dark Side_  this really was turning out to be. As her fingers covered her eyes, she peeked out through the gaps in her fingers like a cheeky child, and this time was rewarded – or cursed – with the sight of the boy himself.

Adrien came out of the bathroom, a red towel around his hips, a black one around his hair.

_PFFFFFFT HAHAHAHAHAHA_ LADYBUG COLORS ISN'T THAT JUST  _PERFECT_.

She covered her eyes fully now, kicking her heels into the roof over and over again.

_Oh my gosh. I've lost my mind_.

And when Ladybug finally reopened her eyes…

…she spotted two green ones staring straight back at her.

_Ahhhh crap._

Scooting around with her heels so her back was to him, Ladybug pushed her fingers over her eyes again before standing up. Her hands were on her yo-yo now, and she swung her arm back to get a good  _long_  hook to hopefully propel herself  _far, FAR_ away. She chanced just  _one_ glance behind her when he swung back.

Big mistake.

Her yo-yo hooked onto the top of the house behind her –  _Adrien's_  house – and when she pulled she was yanked backward, yelping as her whole body suddenly slammed into his huge array of windows.

_Maybe he doesn't see me_.

Then there was a loud  _snort_. From inside. Ladybug sighed before turning sloppily around…and, upon making direct eye-contact, losing the grip on her yo-yo.

"No…no, no, no, no…!"

Ladybug slid slowly down the windows, a long squeal trailing along with her. Adrien was red-faced, and Ladybug  _really_ was hoping it was because she had caught him in his towel, and  _not_ because he was straining to hold in his laughter. She tried to wave. And smile.

"Eep!"

A sudden drop told her that she had just proceeded dutifully into another series of "bad ideas".

And then the alarms sounded.

And Ladybug scrambled to her feet, rubbing her nose from being pressed into the glass, and her rear from the awful landing.

Skirting her eyes around, she quickly weighed her options…before doing a double-take at the blond head suddenly staring down at her from out his window. Blond because he lost his towel when he had stuck his head out to look at Ladybug. Ladybug's vision suddenly went black as the towel landed right on her face.

_Ok, this is enough_.

Flailing like the madwoman she obviously  _was,_ Ladybug removed the towel. Or gravity did, and she really did nothing but flap around, but who was really paying attention?

Adrien. Adrien was.

With a giant leap, Ladybug jumped up to the wall, passed a pursed-lipped, wide-eyed Adrien who she  _refused_ to make eye-contact with, up to the roof. Muttering darkly, she retrieved her betraying yo-yo, and, this time paying attention to  _where_ she was throwing it, swung her yo-yo up, up and away from this embarrassment hole.

She only smashed into a few buildings before realizing she wasn't even heading in the right direction, and definitely did  _not_ call off her transformation a good ten feet above her  _not-_ opened skylight.

And she did  _not_ sit there in the hole she had just made in her outdoor lounge chair when her butt blasted right through it.

Adrien, meanwhile, jolted away from the window as the door to his room burst open. As he swung around, he was met with Nathalie's calculating eyes.

"Adrien, are you alright?"

Adrien could only blink for a moment.

"B-Bug. O-O-On the window."

Nathalie raised an eyebrow.

"H-Huge. Huge, red bug."

"Movement was detected below…" she started as she passed quickly to his open window and looked down.

"L-Lost my towel. Trying to get the – er – bug. Yeah." He absentmindedly touched his hair where his towel had been.

Nathalie only narrowed her eyes. She seemed to be struggling against the urge to roll them.

"Please try to be more careful next time, Adrien." She gave him a once-over. "And get some clothes on."

Adrien blushed and watched as Nathalie traipsed out of his room.

As soon as she was gone, Adrien headed straight back for the bathroom and turned on the shower again, walking in without even bothering to take off his other towel.

"Uh…what are you doing?" Plagg questioned, floating up next to his Chosen as the blond boy let the water hit him square in the face. His answer came out somewhat garbled.

"Uh… _not_ dealing with this crap right now,  _that's_ for sure."

Plagg rolled his eyes before repeating his prank from earlier.

"PLAGG SERIOUSLY OH MY GOSH."

qpqpqpqpqp

Marinette was early. For school. For once.

She stood completely stock-still at the front of the building, the only thing out of place was the slight tilt of her head and a goofier smile than normal.

If Nathanaël had been drawing her, which he was  _not_ doing from a shadowy area near the school, because that's  _creepy,_ he would be drawing little heart bubbles popping around her head to match her expression.

The pastry box in her arms wafted out warmth and yummy smells. When Kim and Max walked by to ask after the box, she waved them away, though they went nowhere. Alya and Nino soon joined the little party. Their hungry eyes and prying hands were begging Marinette to give them something yummy. When Rose and Juleka came as well, Marinette, though petite, tried desperately to lift the box up and away from the crowding classmates. A hiss escaped from her pursed lips when the crowd started  _crowding;_ Marinette had one leg raised up, about to start kicking the intruders away, their hands touching the box. Thankfully, at that moment, her real query pulled up to the school. All menacing looks gone from her face, she suddenly shot forward toward the model exiting his car. A chorus of pleas sounded behind her

"Hi, Adrien!" she hummed to him, a little loud, a little breathless. Her left eye twitched a bit.

"H-Hey, Marinette!" Adrien  _stuttered_ in reply before gulping deeply.

_He_ knew who had spied on him last night. In his towel.

With a totally innocent smile, he stumbled backward a bit as he shut the door. A moment later he squealed (def did  _not_  "squeal") when he shot forward with the car, the strap of bag caught in the door. Marinette was there in a heartbeat. She threw the box of pastries up into the air (all of her classmates' eyes darted upwards with a collective gasp) and yanked Adrien's bag strap from the closed door. The strap broke free, but Adrien stumbled from the momentum. Marinette caught him as he fell with one hand, grinning down at him, before her box of treats landed deftly in the outstretched fingers of her other hand. Adrien's hands were held up close to his chest, shoulders scrunched. He could only blink up at the blue-eyed bluenette.

"Sanksfurrymooch," he muttered out.

"Oh, you're  _so_  welcome, hot stuff," she giggled back without even a glimmer of a blush.

But Adrien was red enough for the both of them, so he supposed that was alright.

_Was that a wink, or is her eye twitching more?_

With a strong but gentle push, Marinette righted Adrien, taking her time brushing him off with her now free hand until it became a little too much like  _petting_ , and Adrien, giggling a bit when she accidentally tickled his side, pushed her hand away. He coughed in a manly way to cover up the super-duper macho  _chuckling_ from a moment before.

"I-I'm good, Marinette, thanks."

Marinette beamed at him, batting her eyes, and holding up the box she had been carrying up to him. It settled right under his nose.

And his nose was very,  _very_ grateful.

"Is this…are these…for me?"

Marinette nodded enthusiastically. "Of course, silly!"

A loud, collective groan passed nearby, and Adrien noticed for the first time the audience that had gathered at the base of the front stairs. As Adrien gingerly took the box from Marinette, eyes still on the crowd, his classmates only continued to stare. And when he slowly opened the box, and smelled it, and took out a croissant, and took a slow,  _slow_  bite, humming in delight, he couldn't stop the smile crawling up his face at the h _angry_  eyes looking daggers at him.

When he looked back at Marinette, though, he blanched. When had she grabbed onto him, and without him even realizing it? She was looking hungry too…but her eyes were aimed straight on  _him_. Without any more warning than this, Marinette yanked him down and quickly kissed the corner of his mouth. The croissant dropped from his hand back into the box. She bit her lip, smiling now, and he heard Alya snort (he'd recognize  _that_ sound of derision from  _her_ anywhere), and as fast as the color had drained from his face, he felt an exuberant amount of blood rush back in. He coughed a bit again, suddenly quite lightheaded.

" _Smooth_ , dude."

Nino was laughing now, along with Alya, and the few still-assembled classmates there chuckled with them. Adrien jumped slightly when an absolutely  _feral_  sound came from next to him.

It was Marinette.

Marinette  _growling_ at Alya, Nino, and everyone else standing there. The sound sent a shiver down his spine.

It was the most attractive  _thing_ he had ever heard in his life.

Was that weird?

Probably.

Did he care?

Definitely not.

He pushed the peeping head of Plagg back inside his overshirt.

Plagg's reaction, along with the look of shock on everyone else's faces, brought a kind of smug satisfaction to Adrien. That was  _his_ Lady. He picked up his pastry again and started to guide Marinette, an arm looping around her own, into the school. As he passed the small crowd, he let himself thoroughly enjoy the eyeroll from Alya, and the disappointed look from Nino, as he took another huge bite of his still-warm croissant.

Immediately he felt her lips next to his own again.

Whatever the heck was going on with Marinette, it wasn't  _so_ bad.

…Right?

He tried to (not) enjoy his suddenly awesomer-than-awesome life before the imminent doom that would be the wrath of Ladybug. Once they, well,  _fixed_ her somehow.

Meanwhile, his inner Chat Noir  _purred_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHAHA OH LAWS I AM SO SORRY. XD  
> I am back from vaca!! And my throat is killing me! And I am so tired!  
> (Are these enough excuses??)  
> I have a tumblr now...and I post art there...? And some extra stuff? I need...friends?  
> Leave a comment, I'd love to chit-chat!  
> Got ideas? Shoot 'em my way!  
> Thanks for reading, seriously. Like, thanks. You da man. n.n  
> -Maki
> 
> (Disclaimer: I do not own "Miraculous!: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir" or any of its characters.)  
> (Also posted on FanFiction.net.)


	3. Let's Flip a Coin. Head, I'm Yours. Tails, You're Mine.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously:  
>  _Plagg's reaction, along with the look of shock on everyone else's faces, brought a kind of smug satisfaction to Adrien. That was his Lady. He picked up his pastry again and started to guide Marinette, an arm looping around her own, into the school. As he passed the small crowd, he let himself thoroughly enjoy the eyeroll from Alya, and the disappointed look from Nino, as he took another huge bite of his still-warm croissant._  
>  Immediately he felt her lips next to his own again.  
> Whatever the heck was going on with Marinette, it wasn't so bad.  
> …Right?  
> ...  
> (Chapter 3 Rewrite)  
> And as fast as it started it was thankfully over. Adrien collapsed heavily onto Marinette, sides and stomach reacting almost painfully to the action his body seldom experienced. Another few clicks of a phone camera was heard, but Adrien didn’t care anymore. As he used Marinette’s shoulders to prop himself back up, he took the opportunity to take a steadying breath before looking straight into her eyes.  
> “There will be no more,” – he took a deep breath, eyes closing momentarily – “ _tickling_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so...here's the thing.  
> I did warn you that I was under the influence of NyQuil. I said that, right? Yeah. So, I'm sober now, and well, and I had major writer's block and couldn't figure out why. Then I reread the previous "Chapter 3". And I reread it again. And I was like, "WHAT THE CRAP DID I DO!?"  
> So...I, uh...rewrote it. The whole thing. Except for like...3 sentences or something.  
> But I couldn't find it in myself to delete the whole chapter because it would delete the comments...and then I did it anyway.  
> I saved the comments though...on my computer. Because they made me happy. But the story and the comments weren't going to make sense otherwise.  
> So let's just pretend that the whole NyQuil-induced writing thing never happened, and I will apologize by posting the next chapter either tomorrow (Or...later today?? What time is it!?) or the next day.  
> You all are amazing...and I really am grateful to you for your input and your humor and your ideas and I'm rambling because I'm nervous.  
> I hope you enjoy!!  
> Thanks for reading. <3

Marinette eyed the crowd around them as she walked arm-in-arm with Adrien Agreste.

Adrien. Agreste.

Her frame buzzed again with giddiness and she pressed a little closer to him. Using every bit of Ladybug magic leftovers to boost her senses, she listened carefully for every bite of pastry he took…to which she would quickly place a chaste kiss  _somewhere_ on her golden-haired companion. A wistful sigh escaped her again; Adrien didn't hear her, and that was probably a good thing. As he took another bite, Marinette kissed his arm where her face met his sleeve.

When he turned down to her at the contact, Marinette couldn't help the giggle passing her lips. He smiled, his countenance still a little  _smug_ , and the absolutely  _self-satisfied_ expression on his face nearly did her in. She felt her face flush, but she held his gaze. Adrien licked his lips absentmindedly as he gazed at her, searching for frosting and crumbs lingering in the corners of his mouth. Marinette looked away, fanning herself in her new normalcy of fevered temperatures and heated cheeks.

At that moment, the perky and annoyingly  _pretty_ face of Aurore bustled up to Adrien. Her eyes darted between him and Marinette. As she reached out to hand something to Adrien, Marinette tensed. Aurore stared at the bluenette with wide eyes.

 _MINE_ , Marinette tried to think so forcefully that it would transfer into that  _snotty, blond, annoying_ –

The mental threatening seemed to work. Aurore squeaked out something to Adrien before hurrying away.

Marinette's inner Ladybug proudly flicked invisible dust off her shoulder.

"Wha-What?  _Marinette!_ " Adrien said in a hushed tone, pushing the lid on the box of sweets closed before hovering over Marinette's small frame and leading her swiftly into the locker room. "Marinette, she was just returning my  _calculator_."

Marinette huffed, rolling her eyes. She felt Adrien exhale deeply beside her, and when she looked up to him again, she saw pursed lips and pink cheeks on his face while he shook his head. While Marinette was obviously curious about what was going on in there, behind those emerald eyes, she was suddenly hyperaware of how many eyes were on them as they stopped at Adrien's locker. Marinette had been about to brave the trek without Adrien to her own locker…but there were a lot of people here. And suddenly, Marinette saw every one of them as the enemy.

Adrien let go of Marinette for a moment, pulsing his hands above her arm gingerly in a tentative gesture, as if hoping she would stay in that position.

Eying the crowd, Marinette shot daggers at the passersby who dared look at her and her man while casually leaning her back against the locker next to Adrien's. Although her bluebell eyes were innocent enough normally, the fierceness in them now attempted to puncture the hearts of anyone who dared approach the vicinity.

That included the little first year whose locker Marinette was apparently leaning on.

"Uh, excuse me," the small girl muttered out, trying out for a shy smile as she looked at Marinette. "Can I get into my locker there – EEEEEEEP!"

Marinette had snarled. She attempted to take a step forward, but was suddenly flattened against the lockers when a body came crushing against all of her. While she definitely enjoyed the closeness, she did  _not_ appreciate the fish-face she was being forced to make as her cheeks were squished between Adrien's back and the lockers.

"Sorry! Sorry, Angelina!" Adrien shouted apologetically.

_He knew her name!?_

"Marinette's not feeling, uh,  _well_ at the moment, heh!" Adrien pulled away from Marinette slowly, an arm behind him pulling her with him; he made sure that Marinette was unable to make any type of eye contact with the other girl thanks to his body blocking. Huffy and quite put out, Marinette stomped her toe repeatedly once Adrien stopped scooting her.

"Th-th-that's OK, A-A-Adrien," stuttered the little girl nervously.

_That's MY job!_

"I-I-I'll just come back l-l-l- _ugh!_  A-another time."

Quick feet told Marinette that  _Angelina_ had scampered off. The hold on her arm from Adrien loosened slightly, but he didn't let her go. Instead, he only switched arms momentarily, throwing the rest of his stuff he needed for the day into his bag and swinging it over his shoulder, then proceeded to drag Marinette to her own locker.

Marinette started opening her locker, her nose in the air in a (mock) disapproval of his actions. The locker clicked open and she chanced a side-glance over to Adrien. A snort came out when she saw his irritated expression contrasting against his even pinker cheeks. She smiled inwardly.

"Are you going to apologize?" she said in a hushed tone.

He pursed his lips. "For what?"

"Oh, I don't know, slamming me against the locker."

He looked her up and down for a moment. "Nope."

"Is it because you're not sorry, or because you enjoyed it?"

"Puh, are those my only two choices?"

"Ah, but Adrien!" Marinette grabbed onto his arm suddenly and batted her long eyelashes at him. "You really did  _hurt_  me!" She patted her cheeks to show him the spots. "Kiss it better?"

Adrien swallowed, but didn't make a move to do anything else. "You look fine to me."

Marinette laughed. "Ooo, thanks! And you're welcome to keep looking."

Adrien flushed even deeper, scowling when Marinette continued to giggle.

"You know, you're cute when you're angry."

Adrien's eyes widened for a moment. In a gesture of childlike nervousness, he simultaneously sucked his lips in between his teeth and puffed out his cheeks. Marinette didn't miss a beat. Reaching up with quick reflexes, she smacked his cheeks, forcing the air out of them in a rush. The resulting expression made her double over in laughter.

At that moment, Alya and Nino came up to the pair. They were discussing something excitedly; Alya had her phone out and Nino had lowered his headphones, a smile on his face as he held the phone with Alya. If he was really watching the phone or if he was just happy being close to Alya, one couldn't say. When the two spotted an extremely huffy and red Adrien and a giggly Marinette, they froze, Alya's last word catching in her mouth, letting out an elongated "aaaaa…?"

It took all of two seconds for the onlooking duo to switch gears.

Alya rushed over to Marinette, pulling her closer so they could whisper together. Nino, meanwhile, came up to Adrien and slapped him hard on the back, trying to break him from his "stupor".

"What did you do to Adrien?" Alya came to Marinette's side and tried speaking in a hushed tone, but it wasn't as quiet as it probably should have been. And that may or may not have been on purpose. "And what is  _with_ you today?"

At the sound of Adrien's name, though, Marinette just giggled again.

"Ooohhh Adrieeeenn…" she muttered breathily to herself. In the next moment, she slammed herself into the back of the boy they had been talking about. "Yyyeah, this feels right."

Whatever the two dudes had been discussing just then seemed to reach a head at Marinette's actions. Adrien, slightly wide-eyed with exasperation, gestured wildly toward Marinette. Nino snickered.

"See?  _See?_ " Adrien sputtered. "And she practically  _snarled_ at the girl who has a locker next to mine –"

"She had a questioning look in her eyes," Marinette spoke from the fold of Adrien's shirt back as she nuzzled her face into the fabric.

"She was  _trying_  to figure out why you were blocking  _her_ locker."

Poking her head around Adrien to see his face, she was elated to see the furrowed brow again.

"Ooohhh look!" Marinette buzzed with excitement, jumping up and down and looking to Alya's face. "Looky, look,  _look!_ He's sooo cute when he's angry!" She giggled madly and nuzzled her head into his back again.

Nino and Alya looked from Marinette to Adrien…and to Marinette…and back to Adrien.

Marinette missed the  _HELP ME!_ Adrien mouthed to his friends.

Or, who he thought were his friends.

Instead of doing anything remotely close to being helpful, Alya pulled out her phone and snapped a picture while Nino only sniggered at his "bro". When Marinette heard the camera click, she turned around from Adrien again.

"Ooooo! Alya, snap another one, yeah?" Marinette didn't wait for a response, but instead yanked Adrien down by the arm and kissed his cheek.

Alya's lips wavered as she snapped picture after picture.

Adrien  _knew_ he was photogenic. He was a model, for Pete's sake. Even the paparazzi hadn't been able to snap an unflattering photo of him in the last few years he had actually been allowed to leave the house. But Adrien was sure, in that moment, as Alya tried  _so hard_ not to laugh, that his bad luck had caught up with him in every regard, and he appeared as anything but  _cute_.

It was confirmed when Alya slid through the photos to show Nino, and then when she showed them to the "couple".

"Ugh, those look awful!" Adrien almost whined.

The three friends wasted no time agreeing, laughter bubbling out first at the best pictures they'd ever seen of Adrien, and second, the boyish pout that the model now wore on his face.

Marinette seemed the most sympathetic, hugging him around the middle again.

"It's 'cause you're not  _smiling_ , silly!"

And with that exclamation came the third most embarrassing moment of Adrien's life. It was a close second to being caught with gum all over his hands and reprimanded by Marinette on his first ever day of school, though it was nothing to being a blustered Chat Noir tossed around like a pinball by Stormy Weather.

_Why do all of my embarrassing moments seem to happen around this girl!?_

Marinette hadn't given him any warning at all. None. And he thought it was highly unfair.

Her tiny hands and fingers were good at lots of things, like sewing, drawing, yo-yoing, and kicking butt in general. Now, it would seem, she had discovered a new talent: finding every tickle spot Adrien had no idea he even possessed. And while he had always dreamed of Ladybug (and, really, for the last year or so, Marinette) touching him anywhere she wanted to, Adrien realized in that moment that that was a  _stupid_ dream.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA, Marinette!" he pleaded between huge guffaws. " _MariHAHAHAHAnette, STOP! HAHAHA STAHAHAHAP!"_

And as fast as it started it was thankfully over. Adrien collapsed heavily onto Marinette, sides and stomach reacting almost painfully to the action his body seldom experienced. Another few clicks of a phone camera was heard, but Adrien didn't care anymore. As he used Marinette's shoulders to prop himself back up, he took the opportunity to take a steadying breath before looking straight into her eyes.

"There will be no more," – he took a deep breath, eyes closing momentarily – " _tickling_."

Without looking down at her face, he closed Marinette's locker, hefted her bag to his own shoulder, grabbed her hand, and started marching her passed their (traitorous and completely unhelpful) friends, through the door of the locker area and up the stairs toward the classroom.

Surely things could only get better from here, right?

Sure. Things got better.

After Marinette tripped Lila and made it look like Chloe's fault so the two would argue instead of try to talk to Adrien.

And after Adrien turned and slapped a hand over Marinette's mouth to stop her from  _growling_ at Mme. Bustier when she entered and smiled at the class.

And after Alya pulled Marinette back onto her bench after she attached her fingers suddenly to Adrien's hair (he was sure his hair had still not recovered, as well as his dignity).

And after Adrien switched Nino places on their bench when Mme. Bustier wasn't watching (as if she didn't notice) so he didn't have to listen to Marinette sigh every 10-15 minutes.

Sure. Things got better.

Especially when Alya's phone dinged to alert everyone to an Akuma attack.

qpqpqpqpqp

How she had even gotten this far, she couldn't be sure, but Ladybug was beyond paranoid about running into Adrien  _again_.

Flattening herself against the lockers, she sidled as sneakily as possible around the edges back toward the window. If Adrien could just  _stay_ in the bathroom, she was sure she could actually make it  _out_ the window. She had to leave, and it was becoming harder and harder to any time she thought longingly (there was no other way to think of him anymore when he wasn't around) about the blond boy who had so unfairly ran into the bathroom moments after she had. What should have taken her around a minute to make it from the classroom and out the bathroom window had taken her more than five, and she hadn't even left the school yet. It was just so gosh darn  _hard_ to leave that tall, blond, handsome, angelic-faced…

_NNOOOOPE. NOPE. I GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE! SAVE PARIS! I NEED TO SAVE PARIS!_

With one final leap, she jumped up to the window and out, just to get immediately sidetracked by a figure in black. With a  _fwump_ , Ladybug gracefully landed in the bushes outside of the school, movements frozen mid-yo-yo-toss like a glitch to a video game character.

 _Stinkin' Chat,_ Ladybug huffed inwardly, pulling herself up and shaking off the leaves of the bushes as she extricated herself from their grasps. With a final shake of the head, Ladybug shot into the sky, hot on the heels of her pussycat.

An explosion led the way while the two heroes of Paris raced along the rooftops to save their beloved city once again. Feeling freer than she had in days, Ladybug quickly and laughingly outstripped her partner, looking over her shoulder with a smirk as she passed him. Chat didn't meet her eyes.

At the edge of a rooftop overlooking where the explosion had sprung up, Ladybug paused to wait for the cat-boy. Her breath came in heavy gasps after her exuberant run. As her eyes darted the area, the familiar sound of her partner landing by her called her full attention to him for the first time.

"Hey, Chaton," she turned to smirk down at him in his little squatted, kitty pose. Before she could make a full turn, though, Chat, planted  _quite_ close to her, pulled himself up to his full height. "Rea…dy…?"

Tall.

Blond.

 _Handsome_.

Angelic-faced.

"Ugghefferdagur…" she muttered to him, looking him up and down. A small shudder passed through her frame, racking her brain for a connection she couldn't place, infiltrating her already and thoroughly splintered thought processes a bit more than she would have liked.

Ladybug gulped, her body feeling that all-too-familiar pull…but…toward  _Chat_.  _Chat Noir_.

 _Oh my hey-howdy-hey…when did he_   _get so tall?_

His cheeks were flushed, and a brightness from the recent exercise made his cat-eyes shine. His chest was heaving… Ah,  _cats…_ his  _chest_ …good  _gravy_  he's filled out nicely, hasn't he? His pecs were perfectly defined…every ab perfectly outlined in whatever leathery material his suit was made out of…

When had she started tracing her fingers down his suit?

Chat's breathing had hitched under her touch, and now quickened as she looked up into his eyes. His lips were pursed tightly –  _nervously_ , she realized – but he couldn't seem to pull his gaze away from hers. His flicking tail snapped restlessly behind him, and the sound  _snapped_  something inside of  _her_.

Ladybug blinked once before grinning wildly. Chat suddenly looked terrified.

Taking a timid-but-decidedly-not-really-at-all-that-timid step even closer to Chat, she reached up with the hand that had been absentmindedly outlining his muscle definitions to the little bell at his collar. The little flick she gave it before meeting his eyes again made her heart race madly. A similar reaction to what Chat was feeling.

"Woo,  _Kitty,_ " she murmured silkily before fanning her face with her hand. Chat about passed out from her tone. "You know, it's guys like you that cause global warming."

Chat breathed out a hitched laugh while leaning a little closer to her.

"You think so?" he tried to grin back, but he felt his face twitching strangely and wasn't sure if the gesture came out as a smile or more of a spastic reaction.

Chat Noir knew he shouldn't be getting into this. He knew it was Marinette, under a "spell" or  _whatever_ that was causing her to act like this…but…Ladybug was being  _flirty_ with  _Chat Noir_. He'd been pretty unsuccessful at keeping this –  _her_ – at bay all day. And he was exhausted by it. Really. That was the only reason he was giving in. For real. Yeah. Mmhm.

It had absolutely  _nothing_ to do with the love of his life suddenly finding him attractive in his cat suit. Nope.

"Mmmm…" Ladybug hummed simply in reply, pointedly  _checking him out_ again. "I mean, you must be peanut butter, because you're making my legs feel like  _jelly_."

Chat was spared giving a reply he wasn't sure he would be able to make (other than maybe something between a choke and a croak) by another explosion in the distance.

As had become the normalcy of late, Chat was given no warning before Ladybug acted. In one fast motion, Ladybug grabbed Chat around the waist and pull him flush against her. He felt her breath near one of his human ears as she whispered lightly into it.

"Hang on tight,  _Minou_. I'm gonna take you for a ride."

Chat, while his brain was a fuzzy mess now, couldn't help thinking how incredibly  _right_ she was.

And then he screamed like a maniac while looping every appendage (including his tail) around her as she wildly swung them through the streets of Paris.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, but the next chapter is going to be like, my favorite one ever.
> 
> Gah, I love you all.  
> Thanks for bearing with me.  
> I solemnly swear to never write while downing NyQuil ever again.  
> (Nevermind, I can't promise that.)  
> But I promise to always make it better...? n.n;;;
> 
> I do need to say this: What shocked me so much about rereading the previous Chapter 3 is that I DON'T WRITE THAT KIND OF "STUFF"! *blushes* As someone said, it gave the feel of "lemon" without being lemon, which really, I appreciated! I mean, honestly, I READ stuff like it, but I d-don't WRITE it! *blushing profusely, rubbing toe on the ground nervously* I try to stay pretty, well, "clean". Oops. I'm sorry. I saved what I wrote though, and it - or at least some of it - will make an appearance later on.
> 
> Thank you for sticking with me. I appreciate it. For Realz. <3
> 
> Thanks for all the Kudos, follows, bookmarks, etc! They mean the world to me. <3 n.n
> 
> And please, please feel free to leave a comment - I love to "chat"! 8)
> 
> -Maki


	4. Do You Believe in Love at First Sight, or Do I Need to Walk by Again?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Previously:_  
>  Chat Noir knew he shouldn't be getting into this. He knew it was Marinette, under a "spell" or whatever that was causing her to act like this…but…Ladybug was being flirty with Chat Noir. He'd been pretty unsuccessful at keeping this – her – at bay all day. And he was exhausted by it. Really. That was the only reason he was giving in. For real. Yeah. Mmhm.  
> It had absolutely nothing to do with the love of his life suddenly finding him attractive in his cat suit. Nope.  
> "Mmmm…" Ladybug hummed simply in reply, pointedly checking him out again. "I mean, you must be peanut butter, because you're making my legs feel like jelly."  
> ...  
> Hawk Moth notices something amiss.  
> Chat and Ladybug wrestle.  
> And Alya learns how to use a yo-yo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (( YOU are awesome. Yes, you, the one reading this. And not because you're reading this, but because you are YOU and you are special. Yes, YOU! This is a message for you. Because I thought you might need the reminder that you are awesome. Stay awesome. :) ))  
> And if you haven't read the revised edition of Chapter 3, please do so! I mean, this might still make sense, but in the long run...it won't. So yeah. Thanks for the kind words on that head, by the way. I really appreciate all the support you guys have given me! <3 <3

Hawk Moth had been having a good day.

No, a  _great_ day.

Split Personality, his newest Akuma, was a dream come true. It was a two-for-one deal, and Hawk Moth couldn't be happier. Randolph Gustavo had been told that he was crazy, that he was acting like a completely different person, for the last time. He was fed up. So Hawk Moth helped him…by making him into what his peers had accused him of all along: being two different people.

As long as he had differing opinions with himself, Split Personality stayed split. It was something Hawk Moth did on purpose; an angry Akuma was an aggressive Akuma, and while both sides of Split Personality fought with each other around Paris, the mess of destruction was sure to not only draw the attention of Ladybug and Chat Noir, but be so distracting that the super duo might not be able to even tell that there really were two separate beings until it was too late. It was double trouble, and for a while it seemed to be working splendidly.

Ladybug had appeared only fifteen minutes into the rampage, followed immediately by Chat Noir. But as soon as his Akuma had even noticed the team, they had run off together and hadn't appeared since. Not only was it a bit disheartening for Hawk Moth, it was absolutely insulting. This was the best Akuma he'd had in a long time! And there hadn't even been an attack since the week before! If anything, the team  _owed_ it to him to match up against his latest Champion.

Stupid teenage hormones.

Crossing his arms over his chest as he scowled, Hawk Moth watched on as both sides of Split Personality argued over where to search next. He had at least convinced them to seek out the superheroes; if the sneaky duo refused to come to him, he would come to  _them_.

Hawk Moth opened up the talkway with Split Personality. It was like watching dual screens, and Hawk Moth blinked hard for a moment, adjusting to the weird view. Before he could reprimand both or either sides of the suddenly lackluster Akumatized victim, red and black flashed into the screens, and without warning Hawk Moth was accosted with double visions of Ladybug and Chat Noir. A very  _distracted_ -looking Ladybug and a very  _terrified_ -looking Chat Noir.

"Uh – er –  _get their miraculous!_ "

Hawk Moth closed the talkway as fast as he had brought it on and looked out of his magically magical window at the events now unfolding.

"I am Split P–" both of the personalities of Randolph started talking, but they were cut off almost immediately by a hand up from Chat Noir. The cat-like superhero was bent over, the hand not gesturing to Split Personality supporting his panting self up by his knee.

Hawk Moth pulled a face and lifted up his hands, incredulous.

_Excusez-moi!?_

"Hold on just a moment," Chat Noir snapped at his Akuma victim before turning sharply toward Ladybug. "Could you  _not ever do that again, please_!?"

Ladybug  _giggled_.

"Awwwww," Ladybug cooed, pulling Chat Noir up by a hand on each cheek. She squeezed them as she brought his nose up to hers and rubbed them together. "But I thought  _mew_  liked being close to me! Wasn't it exciting enough  _fur_  you?" As Ladybug giggled again, Chat Noir seemed frozen in place. Hawk Moth watched the heat rise to the leather-clad hero's cheeks and frowned, utterly confused.

"Ladybug, w-we have  _stuff_  to do!" Chat practically yowled at her, a squeak breaking his slightly ragged voice. He pulled away from her and waved his hands wildly in the direction of the Akumatized victim.

Ladybug sighed, but nodded, rolling her eyes in the promise. A thoughtful expression rose to her face before she bent herself into an offensive pose. The other players in this game matched her stance, ready to begin the battle. But suddenly there was a mischievous twinkling in her eyes Hawk Moth did  _not_ like.

"Race you for it," the black-spotted hero hummed friskily, sneaking a glance at Chat Noir before licking her lip in concentration. The cat-boy huffed out a laugh before pulling out his baton and looking back to the Akumatized victim.

"You're on."

As Ladybug took off, she yelled happily, "Winner gets a kiss!"

Hawk Moth snorted when Chat Noir directly tripped on air and face-planted into the roof.

qpqpqpqpqp

Fifteen minutes later, and Ladybug and Chat Noir were still battling Hawk Moth's Akuma as well as each other.

Ladybug reached out to one of the personas of Split Personality, stretching to grab the watch she had spotted there. Before she could get very far, she let out an "oof!", Chat Noir suddenly using her shoulders to leap over her. After a swift kick into the yellow and purple villain, Chat Noir rounded on Ladybug, wasting no time before pulling her into a headlock and giving her a noogie. She screamed in protest at his knuckles ruining her hair before twisting her legs up behind her around Chat Noir's neck.

Hawk Moth cringed at the sight; no one should be able to bend like that.

Ladybug's momentum and weight pulled a slightly-choking Chat Noir to the ground. The two "superheroes" continued for another full minute shamelessly wrestling around, laughing, Chat Noir occasionally letting out very cat-like mews and meowls.

What was annoying to Hawk Moth about this little game – other than having to endure watching a hormonal rampage by the two heroes he most desperately wanted to  _destroy_ – was how they were practically  _toying_ with Split Personality just as much as they were with each other. Hawk Moth was beyond  _done_ with this. When the other side of Split Personality came up to the wrestling pair, reaching a hand to pull up his fallen persona, Hawk Moth opened the talkway once again.

" _Just get those Miraculouses NOW!_ "

"We're  _trying!_ " the two sides growled together. Their forms buzzed for a moment, connecting for a second into one form before splitting again. One face held anger, the other something akin to a frightening confidence. Hawk Moth broke the connection and stomped around his lair, disturbing the fluttering butterflies around him. The battle was forgotten for a moment, the sounds floating in the background as Hawk Moth's thoughts started to drift. He tapped his cane into the ground impatiently; the frustration was building, and he felt like he was missing something important, an explanation he couldn't grasp for the strange display of behavior he had witnessed.

The superheroes seemed completely comfortable with each other. And it didn't seem like it was in the way they had been before, merely  _working_ well together. Chat Noir, he had always noticed, was extremely and irritatingly flirty with Ladybug, but Ladybug had always brushed him off. Today, though, Ladybug seemed to not only be reciprocating the black cat's feelings now, but appeared to be actually shocking her partner with its ferocity.

A smile pulled on Hawk Moth's face. It would take some finesse in finding the right victims, but he could use this information to his own advantage. The closer they were, the bigger the feelings. And the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Suddenly their game was not only intriguing, it was a welcome relief to the butterfly-themed villain. He cackled again, already planning the next string of attacks he could use to take the heroes down.

Bringing his attention back to the fight, he realized how close to the end it was. Split Personality had formed together. Apparently the two heroes were too great of opposing forces to keep the Akuma arguing with each of its sides. And, true to suspicion, Chat Noir and Ladybug were working better together than Hawk Moth had ever seen them. As he watched from his window, Chat Noir grabbed Ladybug and threw her, spinning her into the air toward Split Personality. At the end of the arc, Ladybug's foot came out and landed a sound kick into Split Personality's jaw, sending him flying. The two superheroes grinned at each other before tearing off after him. There was another scuffle before Ladybug pulled free. As she broke out, and before Chat Noir could grab onto the watch himself, Ladybug grabbed his tail and swung him soundly away. Though he caught himself mid-air and landed deftly, turning to Ladybug again, the red-clad heroine was already preparing to purify the Akuma.

" _Miraculous Ladybug!_ " Ladybug yelled, throwing her yo-yo into the air (they had not used their special powers for this fight). All watched in wander as the spell of ladybugs blasted through Paris, righting all that was amiss.

"W-What happened?" A righted Randolph Gustavo asked tentatively, holding a hand to his head and looking around.

The super duo shared their first bump wordlessly, and at the lovestruck expression in their eyes, Hawk Moth grinned devilishly.

"I know another one of your many secrets now, Ladybug," Hawk Moth spoke to the open air. "Soon, you and Chat Noir will be closer than you could have possibly imagined…to meeting your doom!"

Hawk Moth felt more confident than he ever had before in his quest for the Miraculous stones, and the cackle he emitted was long and loud.

qpqpqpqpqp

" _Bein joué_ ," Chat Noir whispered, mostly to himself, watching Ladybug as she comforted the lastest victim. News reporters and rescue crews were just starting to come up to the roof where they had all been perched. One among them was a certain Alya Césaire. Smirking at the powerhouse that was his red-haired friend, Chat tore his eyes away from the incoming crowd back to Ladybug. Shining eyes met his own. Two years later and her gaze was still enough to make his breath catch. Of course, Ladybug had never looked at him  _quite_ like  _that_ before.

With one last comforting hand on Randolph Gustavo's shoulder, Ladybug rose and started toward Chat. Chat absentmindedly struck a model-esque pose, one fisted hand on his hip, and within a moment, Ladybug was close enough to stare up at him. She flicked the bell on his suit again. Chat hummed happily before remembered something…

"Well,  _Minou_ ," Ladybug all but whispered to him. "I believe I won our little wager. When do I get my prize?"

"Er…" Chat responded dumbly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Alya pause mid-step. When he flicked his full gaze to the reporter, her eyes were sparkling…with excitement. He looked from her to Ladybug and back again…and back again…and again.  _Aw, crap_.

 _Of course the biggest LadyNoir-shipper would be around when Ladybug is being completely flirty with Chat Noir_.

"Uh…n-not here?" He didn't mean for it to come out as a question, but everything that had just happened in the last hour or so – really, in the past few hours, including school – were flooding back to him. His carefree behavior during the battle suddenly seemed care _less_ , and he mentally slapped himself in the forehead while outwardly pulling a protective arm around Ladybug. He almost desperately looked around as if an answer to his predicament would pop out and smack him in the face.

"Why not?" Ladybug drew his attention back to her, pulling at his bell again. The hand that had circled her around her shoulders flexed betrayingly.

"R-Reporters."

Ladybug smirked at him. "Let them see."

" _NO._ Ha! I mean, n-no…I-I'm uh…shy?" He pushed against her before taking a step back. His smile was plastered on his face, a mask to hide the ridiculous sweat pouring from everywhere all of a sudden. The thoughts of Marinette's little kisses all morning pooled distractingly into his mind. And, however enjoyable those little moments and gestures had been, in that moment the only feeling pulsing through his mind was  _panic_.

Ladybug would  _kill him_ if she was caught on camera doing…er…something quite compromising to her character.

So when Ladybug took another confident step toward him, Chat did the only logical thing he could think of:  _run_.

qpqpqpqpqp

Chat Noir landed hard into the darkened alleyway, dropping gracelessly into the tiny rocks his feet skidded on. Laughter rang behind him, and for the third time in the last five minutes he cursed himself for growing a little  _broader_ rather than  _leaner_ in the last year; he just wasn't fast enough.

Scrambling to his feet, Chat, breath catching painfully in his chest, flattened himself against the wall, willing himself to blend into the shadow. In front of him, a lithe figure alighted, landing without a hint of a stumble in the same place he had so  _eloquently_ crashed just a moment before. He pursed his lips to keep himself from muttering something whining and spiteful; his brow, however, furrowed in frustration. When he drew his attention from his momentary side-glance back to his pursuer, every muscle in his body tensed. She was  _gone_.

Not for the first time in the last and most 24 unsettling hours of his life, Chat found himself gulping again. It was becoming a knee-jerk response; when she was there,  _gulp_. When she disappeared,  _double gulp_. Why the double gulp? The first was for the question, "Where did she go?"

The second was in preparation for when she would magically drop in and startle him witless.

Chat's kitty ears twitched. After another few minutes of waiting and hearing nothing, not even with his advanced senses, he moved cautiously away from where he had firmly planted himself against the wall in the alleyway. Before he had a chance to even snicker at the irony of a black cat hiding among the garbage bins, there was a scream. It pierced his ears until it was suddenly cut off with a hand over his mouth.

It was, of course,  _his_ scream.

qpqpqpqpqp

It was too easy, really. Even without this strange force pulling her toward him in whatever direction he went, two years of fighting and patrolling alongside her partner had given her intimate details about his habits and particular behaviors.

Dark alleyway? Predictable.

Somewhere in the back of her mind were voices screaming about school and responsibilities. But her foggy focus easily replaced all thoughts that didn't revolve around  _Chat Noir_ out of her head. The only strange and recurring thoughts that tended to sway her resolve on finding and snatching up her crime-fighting partner were the ghost traces of the memory of another blond-haired boy and pastries.

But Ladybug really had no attention to give to that topic right now. Chat was right to her left, but trying to become one with the darkness. She needed to vacate the area. As fast as she had landed, she stealthily leapt up and away from the slightly distracted kitty in the alley, wondering,  _again,_ why her thoughts of Adrien kept battling with her reality that  _was_ Chat Noir.

How could Adrien possible even compare to  _her_   _minou_?

Inside the confines of her supersuit, Ladybug's heart started to race almost painfully. Her partner, her tall partner, her tall, dark, and  _handsome_  partner…

…Who was finally stirring right below her.

As her partner oh-so-cautiously took a tentative step away from his hiding place, Ladybug lowered herself the rest of the way from where she had been hanging right above Chat to land directly behind him.

"Hey, Kitty," she purred in his human ear.

He screamed. Like, bloodcurdling, I'm-being-attacked-in-my-bed scream. Ladybug grabbed him to her and covered his mouth with her hand. It was a strange position: she had to stand on her tiptoes and push her arm up at an odd angle to reach his mile-high head from behind. A giggle escaped her when he pulled away from her, hands outstretched in a defensive position.

"You know, this isn't the first time you've ran away from me when I tried to kiss you." Ladybug took a step toward him. His head bent to one side in confusion as he took another step back. The gesture was incredibly endearing. The pain in her chest grew and she put a hand there to try to futilely calm her rapidly beating heart. She laughed again, almost breathless from her internal and outward struggle. "I caught you then, too." She stopped her current pursuit to pause, tapping her chin as she took a moment to think on it. "Actually,  _you_ were the one who caught  _me_."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," he stammered nervously.

Ladybug giggled again. "No, I don't suppose you do…" she almost whispered. A smirk made its way to her face, and she mimicked a pose often used by Chat himself when flirting shamelessly with  _her._ Fingers laced behind her back, Ladybug bent forward a little before taking a step toward the cautious kitten, raising back up and staring straight into his eyes as she continued to come closer. Her next words she spoke before she could help herself, which, honestly, was about 99% of what was going on at the moment. The difference though was the secret-not-so-secret wish she hoped wouldn't show too much in her tone. "But I bet you wish you did."

It worked. A good, solid ten minutes into this chase-down and she had finally caught him. Not physically – not  _yet_  – but he lowered his double staffs to really  _look_ at her for the first time, and she could see it. She could see the interest, the  _burning_ behind the light in his eyes. She bit her lip and looked away, her hands in fists. When she bashfully flicked her eyes back up to him, to her Chat, the butterflies in her stomach swirled excitedly.

"I, uh…"

Chat cleared his throat and backed up again. His heel hit the back of the wall; a quick glance behind him seemed to confirm that he was trapped. Ladybug smirked, taking the last step forward to close the distance between them.

Ladybug was so close now. Her heart continued to beat wildly. Chat had stopped running, and he wasn't moving, and he was  _here_ and she was  _here_ , and she couldn't help inching closer, hands on his stiffened chest, hot breath on her face, eyes closing…

qpqpqpqpqp

_Noooooo, nonononononono._

_YEEESSS but NOOOOOO._

"IIIIII thought you had a thing for Adrien!" Chat burst out, hands pushing gently across her shoulders.

Ladybug's eyes burst open. Her left one twitched, and, even though her face was on Chat, he could tell that her gaze wasn't focused on anything present. She blinked once. Twice. A third time sent her eyelids into a flutter, some semblance of focus coming back into the blue depths.

Chat didn't know what to think.

She smirked.

And Chat was now very,  _very_ confused.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing away Chat's hands from her shoulders. A shiver went down his spine from where she touched him.

"Adrien who?"

Chat blinked. Ladybug laughed.

Chat narrowed his eyes, hands going to his hips.

_Is she serious right now – IS SHE SERIOUS RIGHT NOW!?_

"Wha-? Wh-Wh-What do you  _mean_ Adrien who!? Adrien  _Agreste!_ "

_ME! HELLO!? CRAZY BUG-GIRL CAN'T –_

Ladybug snickered. Then she blinked again,  _slowly_ , and Chat couldn't help but think how much  _that_ look was supposed to be meant for  _Adrien,_ not  _Chat._ It was a strange feeling of internal…jealousy? That seemed to be the closest thing to it…though being jealous of yourself was, admittedly, weird. Her fingers traced a circle at the hair hanging at the nape of his neck. She, at least, seemed to be completely deprived of any and all internal struggle, and Chat was becoming a little miffed at that.

"While he is  _paws_ -itively delightful, he's not as  _puurrrr_ -fect as  _you_."

Chat sputtered, grabbing onto her arms and pushing her away. He tried hard not to let himself look too  _offended,_ but wasn't sure how victorious he was at this current endeavor. In all honesty, he wasn't sure if he really cared. Ladybug only blinked at him before leaning forward again. Chat pushed her back to arm's length again.

" _Delightful?_ " he finally choked out at her. _"_ That's all you have to say after – er – I mean,"

"Chat, what are you alluding to?"

"Nothing, I mean, well, you're  _Ladybug_ , right?"

"Well  _spotted_."

Chat closed his eyes for a moment and pursed his lips.

 _I shan't laugh. I_ shan't!

"So I'm sure you've, uh, k-kissed him or something, right?"

Ladybug shrugged.

Chat flushed, lips pursing further before morphing into an angry scowl. " _Seriously?_ You've  _kissed_ Adrien  _Agreste_ and all you can do is  _shrug_?"

 _Well, I mean, not_ really  _kissed him, but…little kisses, right?_

"What's it to you?" Ladybug finally asked playfully. "What would it matter if I had kissed a thousand guys? Nothing would compare to  _you_."

"A thousand –  _UGH!_ " Chat scoffed, choosing to ignore her sultry, lilting tone. His arms crossed in front of him. "Like you would know what I compare to anyway!"

Ladybug laughed.

And laughed.

Chat's scowl deepened.

"Chat!" she said between deep gasps. "Chat, oh my gosh, you don't know! Haha!" She put a steadying hand on her chest. The moisture from laughing so hard was making her eyes glisten. A finger wiped under at the tears leaking out across her flushed cheeks. Chat stiffened, a momentary desire to be the one to wipe that tear away making his fingers tingle. "Chat Noir,  _you_ ," – Ladybug stuck a finger in his chest hard enough to push him back against the wall again – "were my first kiss."

Chat's first thought was that she could be teasing, but she didn't seem to be.

His second thought was that she was completely deluded.

Suddenly Chat grabbed at both sides of her face, boring into her eyes, searching for answers that weren't there. "Completely miffed" would be an underwhelming descriptor for his present feelings for his present predicament. With a sigh, he eased his grip on his Lady…and noticed for the first time the tenseness with which she had gripped his hands against her face. Her breathing was coming in deep and slightly raspy. She was biting her lip; there was no trace of a teasing smile there, no hint of laughter in her countenance, only that familiar fire in her eyes. Chat felt his tail flick out behind him, a whipping motion to mimic the intensity he felt in his chest again.

_Gall, I love this girl._

He leaned into her, unable to deny her anything she wanted, even if it was due to something he did, even if it was his fault and she would figure it out sooner or later, even if she would absolutely  _kill_ him for it. But for all of the "this is a bad idea" his brain was trying to remind him of, the desire in her eyes was winning him over.

But…

Their slow decent into this present abyss had taken two  _years_ , and as much as he was dying to just have the  _feel_ of her on him, he couldn't do this. He couldn't give into this desire without knowing for sure she would want this too. The odd mix of hesitancy and fervor twisting in his gut made his heart break a little more. The battle for some semblance of regained sanity raged somewhere in her, and the guilt inside him was becoming too much.

He was saved a moment later by the rushing of footsteps and breathless voices.

"-right  _here,_ Nino! I swear! I heard a scream and –  _YES!_ "

Alya came barreling around the corner, phone in hand, followed closely by Nino. Their chests were heaving from the exertion, but Alya looked like she had just won the lottery.

Chat couldn't think. And he didn't have time to do so.

Before anyone else could react, Chat grabbed three things:

Ladybug's yo-yo.

Alya Césaire.

And Nino Lahiffe.

Beyond here, he hadn't thought through much else beyond escaping.

Four screams broke through the Paris air. Chat was overwhelmed, Ladybug offended, Alya beside herself with excitement, and Nino, covering his eyes, terrified for his life.

Chat vaulted with his friends through the city, Nino almost crying with fear. He took a huge leap as they passed over the Seine, trying to use the height to heft the other two into a more comfortable position. He pushed Nino onto his back; the DJ immediately looped every appendage around Chat, one arm pulled tight around his neck. Chat almost laughed when he realized Nino was probably using his other hand to hold onto his hat, terrified though he was. Alya he pulled up closer into his armpit to give his hand more leverage. Just as they were all "comfortable" enough, Chat, preparing to catch them by the bank and push them into another arc through the city to a who-knows-where destination, accidentally dropped his baton into the river. Still a good hundred feet or so up, the three suddenly silent friends looked into the river before all screaming at once.

"WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" Nino wailed into all four of Chat's ears.

"YOU MIGHT BE RIGHT!" Chat yelled back.

"USE THE YO-YO!" Alya screamed out, pointing with one hand to the tool in Chat's hand and keeping a death grip on her phone. Chat looked at her dumbly for too long; Alya grabbed the yo-yo herself and yanked her hand back before grunting all of her force into tossing the magical object. Chat's now two-armed hold tightened around Alya as they all continued to scream before the yo-yo finally found purchase  _somewhere_.

Somehow, the threesome lived.

And somehow they all crashed landed on Alya's balcony.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this makes sense! Haha it's late here, and I didn't have time for much editing. Thanks for reading! And thank you so much for the favorites and the follows! You guys are AWESOME. Leave a review, I love to hear from you!))
> 
> (( You can check out my tumblr account (callmeakumatized or search for Maki Makes Magic) for artwork on my October short fic. That I haven't posted yet but hopefully will on Monday. o.o;; ))
> 
> Thanks for your support. I lurve you guys. n.n


	5. I'm Scared as Heck to Want You, But Here I Am, Wanting You Anyway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Previously:_  
>  "I know another one of your many secrets now, Ladybug," Hawk Moth spoke to the open air. "Soon, you and Chat Noir will be closer than you could have possibly imagined…to meeting your doom!"  
> Hawk Moth felt more confident than he ever had before in his quest for the Miraculous stones, and the cackle he emitted was long and loud.  
> \--  
> "WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" Nino wailed into all four of Chat's ears.  
> "YOU MIGHT BE RIGHT!" Chat yelled back.  
> "USE THE YO-YO!" Alya screamed out, pointing with one hand to the tool in Chat's hand and keeping a death grip on her phone. Chat looked at her dumbly for too long; Alya grabbed the yo-yo herself and yanked her hand back before grunting all of her force into tossing the magical object. Chat's now two-armed hold tightened around Alya as they all continued to scream before the yo-yo finally found purchase somewhere.  
> Somehow, the threesome lived.  
> And somehow they all crashed landed on Alya's balcony.  
> \--  
> Chat Noir and Alya Césaire, Super Team Extraordinaire.

Three adrenaline-pumped, muscle-aching bodies crashed heavily into the Césaire balcony, smashing into and nearly breaking the glass separating them from the inside of the apartment.

Amongst the groans, Alya was the first to recover.

"AH! HAHA _HA!_ " she laughed breathily, rolling from her stomach onto her back to ease the pain her rapidly-beating heart was causing to her chest. She fist pumped once, twice…and then grabbed her face. And screamed.

Nino, already close to tears, screamed back.

Chat Noir  _yowled_  before leaping into the air, almost falling off the balcony.

Alya scrambled to her feet. She pushed her hair back behind her ears, scanning the ground for something.

"Wh-Where is – YES!" Gingerly, as if it were a newborn baby, the lady-blogger picked up Ladybug's yo-yo with both hands. Her eyes were shiny with unshed tears of complete elation. Her body was shaking. Suddenly she rounded on Chat, then Nino, and back again, shoving the yo-yo into their still-crumbled faces.

"I JUST  _DID_ THAT. I JUST SAVED YOUR  _BUTTS!_ " Mid-dance, the ever-journalist stopped, grin faltering just a bit as her thoughts rushed to catch up with her settling nerves. "Wait…why were we running from Ladybug?"

Chat's gaping, gasping mouth suddenly snapped shut. "Guilty" would be a mild word to use to describe the expression suddenly smacked all over his face. Alya's mind raced. It didn't seem like Ladybug was  _mad_ at Chat Noir or anything. In fact, it seemed quite the opposite, to be honest. Alya had smiled to herself at the sight. It seemed like the LadyNoir ship was setting sail afterall.

_I wonder what Chat Noir did to finally get Ladybug to notice him_.

Alya blinked once. Twice.

_I wonder what Chat Noir did…_

Chat Noir had stood up, but was averting Alya's eyes, looking anywhere but at her. He seemed to be shifting uncomfortably, a hand absently scratching at the opposite arm. Alya narrowed her eyes in his direction. When he did finally flick his eyes to hers, a red hue stole quickly over what she could see of his cheeks.

"Chat Noir…" Alya started, a scolding tone causing a motherly lilt into her voice. Chat bit his lip and looked up into the sky as if the clouds were the most interesting thing in the world right then. "Chat Noir, what did you do to Ladybug?"

This statement finally caused the moaning form of Nino to quiet done enough to listen to what was happening around him. Alya tried not to roll her eyes at the theatrics of her boyfriend. Chat hesitated, glancing quickly down at Nino and then back to Alya. Alya jumped when Chat's hands suddenly gripped her shoulders.

"It wasn't my  _fault!_ " he started, a panic in his voice that could have been concerning had it not sounded so cute, taking on the tonal personality of a little boy's whine. "Well, I mean, I think it technically  _is_ , but I don't really know  _what_ exactly I did, or how to fix it. And I would! I totally would if I only knew what was wrong! I mean, or what happened, but I mean, I don't know what to do now and I can't even  _think_ and she is just all up in my business all the time and AHHHH ALYA I MESSED UP OH MY GOSH I MESSED UP SO BAD HELP MEEEEE!"

Chat only paused his caterwauling when a hand slapped him across the face.

Scowling, he looked at Alya who was standing in front of him with her hands over her mouth, a shocked expression burning in her eyes.

"Oh my gosh I just slapped Chat Noir."

Chat scoffed, rubbing his cheek as he glared daggers at the blogger. "Well spotted."

"I mean, they always do that on movies so I thought that maybe it would work now!"

Chat opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. The finger he had pointed at the blogger sagged as his thoughts caught up with what he was  _about_ to say.

_"You shouldn't copy interactions off of movies!"_

Psh. What a big, filthy hypocrite he would have been.

Before the blush that had started to warm up his head made it passed his human ears, another slap broke the cat-boy out of his temporary stupor.

" _HEY!_ " Chat yelled out. "What's the big idea!? I stopped!"

But when he looked at Alya again, she wasn't looking at him. She was looking at Nino.

Nino, who was standing there, looking equal parts incredibly smug and incredibly terrified.

"You deserved that," he said.

" _Dude._ "

" _DUDE._ "

When Chat tried to protest further, Nino held up a finger. " _DON'T._ You just catapulted me around Paris, without my consent, for no reason than to blabber about lady problems to  _my_ lady friend."

"Nino! You can't just –" Alya almost wailed at her boyfriend, blushing as if trying to be embarrassed for him. A finger on her lips silenced her immediately.

"AH  _NAH,_ SISTA!" Nino nearly shouted as he rounded on her. "You don't even get to  _talk_. At least, not to me. I'm pretty sure  _you_ gave me whiplash."

_And saved your life,_ thought Alya darkly.

"Now you all keep me out of the rest of this  _crap._  I'm going inside, turning on the TV, and doing  _normal stuff."_

Chat and Alya stared at each other incredulously while Nino placed shaky hands on the door, trying to open the sliding glass. The cat-boy and the blogger immediately vaulted into a deep, gesture-filled mental conversation.

_What is his problem!?_

_What is_ your  _problem!?_

_Control your boyfriend!_

_Control Ladybug!_

Alya suddenly smiled. Not a nice, friendly, I-feel-for-you-girl-let's-go-get-some-ice-cream smile, but her trademark I-know-your-dirty-little-secret smile. Chat cowered immediately under her stare.

" _ALYA WOULD YOU OPEN THIS DOOR!?_ " Nino yelled suddenly, pulling the attention of the others to his frustrated, wobbly form. Alya rolled her eyes before starting on the door herself.

"It's locked, Nino."

"Don't you have a housekey?"

"Uh, you don't usually have a key for the slider door on a balcony."

"Whhhyyyyyy!?" he whined, collapsing to his knees, hands pressed against his face.

Chat and Alya shared a knowing look.

_Maybe because we're 15 stories high?_

Chat's ears suddenly flicked. Alya watched as the color immediately drained from his face. Faster than she even thought possible for a superhero, Chat raced to the balcony ledge and peek over. Nino caught Alya's flickering glance before they both joined Chat at the railing, cautiously peering over.

Alya snorted. Nino shook his head before going back to jimmy the door some more.

Little  _Chaton_ was scared of a lady dressed in red leaping across the Paris rooftops.

"How did she find us so fast!?" Chat squealed, his voice continuing to go up by octaves every time he spoke.

Alya cheekily glanced at Nino again. "She could probably hear Nino screaming the entire way."

Nino scowled at her.

Chat suddenly rounded on Alya, grabbing her by the shoulders again so fast Alya literally screamed out loud.

"You need to help me, Alya! We need to get inside!  _Now!_ "

Alya bit her lip, then looked at the yo-yo in her hand.

"I have a house key, but it's for the actual  _door_. On the  _inside_  of the building." She shook the yo-yo at Chat, a smirk back on her face. Chat groaned.

"No," Nino said flatly. When Alya and Chat turned to him, Nino had his hat pulled down to cover his face. He slid slowly down the glass of the door, continuing to shake his head. "Come get me when you're done, but I am  _not_ riding on th-that  _thing_ again. Especially with  _you two_ driving."

"Driving?" Alya and Chat parroted together before laughing.

Although, really, Alya couldn't blame Nino for his decision.

Suddenly, Alya felt something of a small tremor shake the building.

" _She's coming!_ " Chat hissed, panicking openly. His arms flailed wilding by his side, then up in the air.

_I WAS BORN TO DO THIS!_ Alya thought, pulling up her best superheroine pose.

"Nino! You distract Ladybug," Alya commanded her boyfriend. When Nino tried to protest, Alya cut him off. "Unless you want another jaunt around Paris!" And with that, Alya grabbed Chat around the middle. With another great swing of her arm, she tossed the yo-yo up to an adjacent balcony. Then swung into the air.

They learned three very important things in that moment.

1, Alya, awesome but normal citizen of Paris, did not possess the super strength that it took to carry Chat Noir while swinging with a magical yo-yo.

2, The time limit was apparently about 20 minutes before Ladybug's yo-yo would magically return to her person.

3, It must have been approximately 20 minutes since they had fled the scene where they had taken Ladybug's yo-yo.

Alya screamed as the yo-yo disappeared. Chat immediately caught her, but it didn't stop the fear of falling and ending her life early and messily on the concrete from bubbling through her system.

" _Alya-shut-up-I've-got-you-stop-screaming!_ "

Alya placed both hands over her mouth as the involuntary screams kept coming. She realized, though, that Chat had indeed caught her soundly, and they were leaping deftly from balcony to balcony, trailing back down to the bottom of the building. A sigh of relief opened up her mind to all of the questions suddenly bursting into her mind, most of them revolving around the heroes and their miraculous super-weapons.

qpqpqpqpqp

The run up to the door of the apartment was silent, mostly because the strange cat/blogger duo was struggling to push breath into their burning lungs. Chat's muscles ached through his supersuit. He reached a clawed hand behind him to the small of his back where his baton had reappeared only a moment before. However many times he witnessed the Miraculous/Kwami magic, Chat consistently doubted how far this good luck would reach on his behalf. Having the feel of the magical steel instrument was a reassuring anchor to him that he needed right then.

Alya suddenly skidded to a stop, Chat following suit. Chat watched the brunette. Her hair was mussed, her cheeks flushed, but excitement seemed to pulse through her veins as she struggled with shaking hands to unlock the door. The lock clicked and Alya's hand was on the door knob, but she suddenly paused. There was no movement from her for a moment. It was long enough that it made Chat nervous. As well it should have.

"Chat Noir, why do you want my help with Ladybug?"

While Chat had expected this question right from the start, he had still hoped that it could be neglected or pushed away long enough for everyone to just…forget about it.

"'Cause I know you?"

The way he said it was  _all wrong_. It came out like a question. It was also a bit unintentionally suggestive to his civilian life. The blogger sensed the weakness.

With a shove, Chat Noir was pulled roughly into the apartment. The lock clicked behind him, then he was forced to turn around to stare at Alya. Her gaze was relentless.

" _Spill_."

That was all Alya had to say, and Chat caved immediately. Chat blew out a puff of air before launching full-force into the story. It took every bit of Alya's concentration to keep up with the fast talker.

"So we were… _somewhere_ , and I was reading from something and she was kind of dazed or something right? So I really like her – you know,  _you know_ , like, a  _lot_ – and I was nervous so I was trying to just make her laugh or something, maybe tease her a bit. Something. Maybe I was doing it on purpose, I don't really know. I didn't really expect it to work! And that's if this, well,  _whatever_ this is that's happening is really happening from this, but I think it is because that's when it really started! And now she is just like, all over me! Which is, you know,  _great!_ But I don't think she really is meaning to do this, because I'm pretty sure I hypnotized her!"

The words were finally out of his mouth. All billion of them.

Chat grabbed onto his face with both hands, suddenly rapidly breathing and in full panic mode. He jumped up, and now his conversation seemed to be more within himself instead of with Alya.

"Oh my gosh…that's it…" he murmured, running both hands through his hair. "I mean, I figured it was, but, uuuggghhhh! I did! I did do it! I did that! I hypnotized M-LADYBUG. I HYPNOTIZED LADYBUG AND NOW SHE'S NOT JUST CRAZY, SHE'S LIKE, CRAZY FOR ME AND I LOVE IT BUT SHE'LL KILL ME AND THEN SHE'LL HATE ME FOREVER AND OH MY GOSH SHE'LL HATE ME! SHE'S GOING TO HATE ME I CAN'T EVEN DEAL WITH THIS! I JUST LOVE HER SO MUCH AND SHE – _DON'T YOU DARE SLAP ME AGAIN, WOMAN!_ "

Alya flushed crimson when Chat Noir addressed her suddenly, batting her hand away.

"THEN QUIET YOUR PANICY BUTT DOWN!"

" _YOU_  QUIET DOWN!"

"I AM QUIET!"

"OBVIOUSLY!"

Why they were yelling, they couldn't say. Release of pent-up stress? Maybe.

Suppressed tension? Probably.

Spastic movement at the window suddenly caught their attention.

When Chat and Alya stared at the source of the flailing, they saw a red-clad Ladybug staring off into the cityscape, looking away from the other three, her yo-yo open in her hand as if she had been looking at it just a moment before. Standing behind her, face nearly plastered to the window, was a ornery-looking DJ. Alya started toward the pair out on the balcony, but Chat grabbed onto her. She tried to shake him off. They were having another silent conversation, a power struggle of wills, which ultimately ended with sissy-slapping each other and racing toward the door.

"Don't let her in!" Chat snarled angrily. "What is wrong with you!?"

"Wrong with me!? Boy, what the hey-howdy-hey is wrong with  _you!?_ "

They struggled with each other at the handle of the door, Chat trying to pull back enough so he wouldn't break the door, but putting enough effort into the scuffle it to make sure the darn thing stayed shut.

Alya grunted crossly before staring the cat-boy in the eyes.

"Why did you come to me if you didn't want my help!?"

"I  _had_ to come to you! You're my only chance to be able to deal with… _this!_ "

"But  _WHY!?_ "

Chat snapped.

Chat was, well, done.

"BECAUSE THAT'S MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG AND I CAN'T EVEN DEAL WITH IT."

Three faces looked at each other, two fighting over opening the door, one standing on the other side. The one standing on the outside suddenly shot finger guns at Alya before cupping his hands around his mouth and pressing them against the glass to make sure his voice was heard. He looked straight Alya while he spoke.

"You owe me €50."

Ladybug turned at the sound of Nino's voice. She looked from him to the window. When her eyes  _locked on_ Chat, she lit up. She gently pushed Nino out of the way so she could stand directly in front of Chat.

Chat and Alya's circuits had both fried.

How Ladybug could continuously keep blowing his mind with her beauty, he couldn't explain.

"We're going to have to let them in eventually," Alya whispered out of the corner of her mouth after a moment of watching Ladybug frantically wave in front of Chat. Her voice was almost as strangled-sounding as Chat's had been.

"Yeah, I know," Chat sighed, putting on a forced smile before waving back at Ladybug. The gesture made her giggle and jump up and down. Chat sighed again before pulling his hands across his face, feeling utterly defeated.

"What do you want me to do?" Alya pushed out the words in a stronger tone than she had before. Chat looked down at her. Her jaw was set, determined, and she stared out at Ladybug with scrutinizing eyes. Chat was thankful for her strength; he needed the extra buoy for his sinking soul.

Chat thought for a moment. What could be done? What could Alya do? Who would really know what to do? The only person her could think of to talk about this to was Plagg, and he knew he wouldn't be very helpful, Kwami or no –

"Her Kwami," he whispered silently. Alya's glare shot up to the cat-boy.

"Her what?"

"I need to talk to her Kwami," Chat chanced a glance away from a continuously flirty Ladybug who was currently trying to use the heat from her breath to make a canvas to write and draw love notes on the window. Alya only looked confused.

Ah.

"Er, a Kwami is what gives us our powers. Sorry, forgot you didn't know that."

Alya scoffed. "Pf. Contrary to popular belief, I do  _not_ know everything."

"Clearly," Chat teased, pointing a finger to Ladybug, trying to lighten the mood a bit. It seemed to work a little. The corners of Alya's lips turned up for a moment before returning to a straight line.

"Chaaaat!" Ladybug whined, apparently tired of the glass barrier separating them. "Can't I come in, Kitty?"

Alya snorted, then tried to cover it up with a cough.

"Shut up," Chat smiled down at the blogger.

"Haha, ok, ok," Alya shook her head, trying to clear it. "So, where is her Kwaddy?"

" _Kwami_. And in order to talk to it, we'll need to get Ladybug to drop her transformation."

Both friends gulped audibly.

"Hey, any day now, dudes!" Nino was at the glass now. He had his headphones on, having put them on when Ladybug had moved (shoved) him away from the glass.

"I think I know how to do this…" Alya said, then she went to click open the lock.

"No, wait –!"

But it was too late. When the lock sounded, Ladybug jumped. More specifically, she jumped  _Chat_.

"GAAAAH!" Chat yelled out under Ladybug's smothering hug. They toppled over the coffee table and landed on the floor. Countless wrestling matches on lazy patrol nights was kicking in practiced muscle memory. They switched up pinning the other, Ladybug giggling the entire time, unrelenting in her advances.

Chat looked around for help, but Alya, after speaking quickly to Nino, had bolted from the scene. He was on his own for the moment. He desperately hoped that whatever idea Alya had, she would enact it  _quickly._

Chat pulled at the collar around his bell, trying to loosen the pull from Ladybug squashing him from above. A crinkly r-r-r-r sound broke the air, and Ladybug suddenly paused.

"Was that your  _zipper?_ "

"What?" Chat wondered, legitimately confused by the question. Of course it was?

"Kitty, does your zipper actually  _work?_ "

Oh.

Oh  _no_.

"N-No…!"

"It  _does!_ "

Chat was just barely fast enough – and, thankfully,  _long_ enough – to stop her short arms form reaching his bell and doing something that he thought might be rather  _unpleasant_ at the moment. He flipped onto his back, kicking a foot up and under Ladybug, straight into her belly. With his other foot, he fought off  _her_ feet as they tried to find purchase on his outstretched leg; he wasn't about to let her hoist herself up after he finally got her somewhat pinned. In the air. One of his hands grabbed onto one of her outstretched ones, and his other hand grabbed onto his bell protectively. Just for good measure, his tail, usually with a mind of its own, had reached up and snaked itself around one of her ankles.

It was at that moment that Nino came out of the kitchen with an absolutely  _ginormous_ plate of food. His fork was stopped on its path to his mouth, the food – completely random by the look of it, something between ramen noodles and…filet mignon? – slowly dropping off his overladen utensil.

Chat made a mental note to get comfortable enough here to get his own heaping platefuls of Mme Césaire's hotel-quality cooking.

"Uh…" Chat opened his mouth to explain the situation to Nino…but the words died in his throat. There was nothing really to say.

"Dude," Nino closed his eyes for a moment, seeming to not even want to be bothered with the sight before him anymore. "Don't know. Don't care."

With that, Nino walked passed the struggling couple and straight to the couch, flipping on the TV.

Ladybug turned a slightly wicked grin back to Chat Noir, but before she could say anything, Alya was back.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng," she stated, her tone so motherly and dangerous all three teens in the room cowered from her instinctively. "Get  _off_ of Chat Noir."

"You…but…my…my identity…." Ladybug could only blink slowly up at her best friend's form.

"Girl, we have known for a while now."

_Yeah, like 10 whole minutes_ , Chat thought, fighting the smile on his face.

Alya coughed nervously, sneaking a glance at Chat before looking back to Marinette. Her tone seemed a little forced, Chat could tell, but Ladybug didn't seem to notice. Apparently all that effort she had been putting into catching a cat dulled a few of her other senses. Not for the first time, Chat felt his face heat up with guilty embarrassment.

"M-Marinette, girl, I have got a scoop for you!" Alya cleared her throat. "Guess who just had an impromptu photo-shoot?"

"Adrien?" Ladybug said, a hopeful, excited lilt to her voice. Chat scowled.

_Don't be jealous, stupid!_ Chat reminded himself.  _That's_ you,  _dang it!_

_Wait…why…?_

"You know it." Alya winked. "And it's for his dad's  _summer_ line."

It took two slow blinks for Ladybug to really latch onto the implication of these words. The effect was evident. She visibly shuddered. When she really looked at the blogger again, Chat could have sworn there were real heart shapes floating in her eyes. The grin spreading across her face was super cute, especially for Chat, knowing it was for  _him_. Sort of.

The sight was comforting and…so  _not_.

"Wait, why Adrien? Like Adrien Agreste?" Chat spat at before he could stop himself.

Alya shot the black-masked hero a scathing glare. He gulped. Ladybug didn't seem to notice the exchange.

She did, however, notice the words that had slipped passed Chat's tongue.

"Adrien Agreste," she sighed breathily. "Ohhh,  _Adrien_ …"

This time Chat shuddered, the force of the words spilling from  _her_ lips making him accidently let Ladybug slip from her perch atop his outstretched foot. She caught herself with ease, however, and in a moment was at Alya's side. Alya, however, was looking at Chat with  _that_ stare. The one that told him quite clearly that she knew his secrets. All of them. And what she didn't know now, she  _would_. Soon.

"Soo..?" Ladybug bounced lightly by Alya, arms clasped together in front of her. Her gaze kept darting back to Chat. It seemed to be taking all of her physical control to keep herself from going back to her kitty friend.

"Well, you have to drop your transformation first, Marinette."

Alya looked as shocked at Chat felt when Ladybug put up absolutely  _zero_ resistance.

With a flash of pink light, Marinette Dupain-Cheng landed in the place where Ladybug once stood. She still wore the somewhat-blank, lovesick stare she had been projecting toward Alya as Ladybug. The room froze at the sight of their classmate, the girl who they knew as shy, cute, passionate, beautiful, wonderfully strong, ambitious, funny, absolutely  _enamoring_  –

Chat sucked in a huge breath of air through clenched teeth, willing his thoughts to come back to earth.

A red blur had flown out of Marinette's earrings and had floated down into her palms. Chat stared up from his position on the floor, but Alya had the best view. The look on her face was nothing short of  _stunned_ , to say the least. She just  _stared_ , all plans of what she was supposed to be doing seemed to be gone in the mesmerizing blink of those big blue eyes. The little creature floated up, spinning slightly so she could see everyone.

"Hello, Alya!" the red, ladybug-esque figure squeaked out.

_CCCUUUUUUUUUTE._

"Hello, Nino! It's so nice to meet both of you!" She was so sweet, and tiny, and  _so, so, cute_.

Deadly, icy blue orbs suddenly locked onto Chat.

"Chat Noir."

_Scary._

_Ladybug's Kwami was SCARY._

qpqpqpqpqp

**_45 minutes earlier._ **

"Hey wait!" Ladybug shouts, running out of the alley and looking up into the sky. Whoever is holding the camera recording her runs up suddenly to her before a purple-haired reporter, slightly breathless, appears in the picture.

"Ladybug! A few questions, please?" the reporter speaks quickly. "Nadja Chamack. Don't be bemused, it's just the news!" With a wink at the camera, Nadja Chamack turned back to a grinning Ladybug.

"Sure thing!"

Nadja wastes no time jumping into the questions. Everyone is used to Ladybug fleeing the scene as soon as possible. But Ladybug only looks bemusedly at the camera, the reporter, and her surroundings, showing no immediate intention to run off.

"What's going on between you and Chat Noir? Have you finally reciprocated his feelings?"

"Oh, yes!" Ladybug says enthusiastically before putting two hands up to her mouth and giggling. "It took me a while, but I finally see Chat Noir for the  _paw_ -some  _cat_ he is!" She winks and points a finger-gun at the camera.

"So, you two are a couple?"

"No. Well...not yet." Another giggle.

"Ladybug, where did Chat Noir take the Ladyblogger, Alya Césaire? And why did he steal your yo-yo?"

"Oh, Kitty is so thoughtful!" Ladybug gushed, the fingers of one hand tickling her chin as she thought about him. "He always helps out people when they're in danger. Mlle Césaire is always getting herself into trouble. I'm sure Chat was probably transporting her somewhere safe."

"With  _your_ yo-yo?" Nadja pressed. Ladybugs playful smile turned into a smirk.

"It  _is_ the fastest way to get around Paris…if he can figure out how to use it."

After this comment, Ladybug saluted the press surrounding the area. The camera panned out to her running and jumping in the direction Chat Noir, with his two-person load, had run off to.

As Nadja Chamack goes on to talk about the LadyNoir ship and what this could mean for Ladybug and Chat Noir fans, a small teenage girl, sitting alone in her living room, abruptly flicked off the newscast.

The scene had made Angelina  _sick_.

She still sat in front of the TV where she had planted herself during this last Akuma attack. The news had been replaying pieces of the battle; but Akuma battles, while cool or scary in their own right, were old hat for the people of Paris. The novel scoop on the news today (and probably for the next week) was the seemingly sudden relationship between Chat Noir and Ladybug.

Angelina twisted her Chat Noir knock-off ring in her fingers, thinking of the boy behind that mask.

She had watched – along with all of Paris – the flirty, cute cat-boy try everything to get into Ladybug's good graces. She had also watched – along with all of Paris – how Ladybug rebuffed him at  _every_ attempt.

_He deserves so much more than_ her! Angelina thought, tears stinging her own big, blue eyes.  _He deserves someone who loves him for who he is! It isn't fair! It isn't fair to him! It isn't fair to_ me!

"She doesn't  _deserve him!_ " she shouted out suddenly. Angelina was surprised to notice she had gotten to her feet. Angry tears streamed down her face.

She was in love with Chat Noir. And he could never be hers.

Sadness pooled into her being from every direction as she raced suddenly to her room.

She didn't notice the black and purple butterfly flutter through her open window.

Her small fingers traced the little paw print etched into the silver of her ring. Tears dropped onto her hands as she pushed the ring onto her finger. When she brought the ring up to her lips, her closed eyes didn't see the fluttering Akuma touch its surface. A reptilian scream pierced her mind, throwing off her senses. The sound of a silky voice touched the dark recesses of her subconscious, a purple mask of light opening up like a window between herself and the perpetrator.

" _Changling_ ," the voice called to her, and she knew it was her name. Whoever she had been before was forgotten; she became in that moment a new self. "I am Hawk Moth. Your love for Chat Noir is pure. Ladybug is the enemy of your love. She will destroy Chat Noir with her unfeeling heart. I give you the power to turn into Chat Noir's one true love, to show him what love  _really_ should be like. I only require something small in return… _Ladybug's earrings_." There was a moment's pause where Hawk Moth sneered through the purple mask trapping his newest victim. "Do we have a deal?"

"Love's labor will not be lost, Hawk Moth."

Changling looked at her wall and plucked off the one picture she had that featured both Chat Noir and Ladybug. Concentrating on every part of Ladybug, she closed her eyes. A black and purple mass bubbled over her skin. Turning to the tall mirror in her room, she wasn't surprised at all to see Ladybug smirking back at her.

With a kiss on her Chat Noir ring, Changling leapt out the window.

She had a kitty to find. And a bug to squash.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOO BOY. So that's a thing now! This chapter! It's a thing now! Yeah! WOO!  
> *falls over from emotional exhaustion*  
> *fist pumps into the air* WOOOoooooo…!  
> Okay, but, seriously guys…you're killing me with kindness. I love it. You are AWESOME.  
> This chapter is…well, maybe it's a little sketchy, it might have some mistakes, but I love the interaction that is Alya and Chat Noir. I-It just makes me so happy. I feel like there is a fun relationship there. Like, they could tease Nino and Marinette mercilessly, and somehow Chat would probably end up with the brunt of the repercussions.  
> So, agree? Disagree?  
> What do you think is going to happen?  
> I mean, _I_ know, but…you know. You can always guess. 8)  
>  (There have been a few of you that hit the nail on the head a LOT. I LOVE it.)  
> And I don't know if it's just because I am running on just a few hours of sleep from the night before or because it's 1:00 in the morning now, or a combination, but I have a question for you: If you could ask me anything, what would it be?  
> (Research purposes. You'll see. Probably.)
> 
> THANKS FOR READING. n.n :D
> 
> Hmmm...also, who remembers Angelina? Anyone? 8)


	6. When a girl is in love, you can see it in her smile. When a boy is in love, you can see it in his eyes.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _As we follow our heroes, we find them in the Césaire residence, where Chat Noir finding out more secrets than he needed to, and Marinette overhears something that may or may not crush her soul._  
>  Or make her want to chuck every piece of pastry she had planned to use for "classical conditioning" at the person it was intended for anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOOOOO It's been a bit of a wait, huh? So sorry! I mention this at the end as well, but, I had lost my notebook. So I had to write everything again. Ugh. But I hope you all enjoy!  
> ...  
> And I hope y'all know that this is meant to be light, fun, fluffy, and maybe have a little angst and definitely some kissing in here. We're, uh, getting there. Heh heh heh heh heh…. (8

_Previously:_

_"I JUST DID THAT. I JUST SAVED YOUR BUTTS!" Mid-dance, the ever-journalist stopped, grin faltering just a bit as her thoughts rushed to catch up with her settling nerves. "Wait…why were we running from Ladybug?"_

_Chat's gaping, gasping mouth suddenly snapped shut. "Guilty" would be a mild word to use to describe the expression suddenly smacked all over his face. Alya's mind raced. It didn't seem like Ladybug was mad at Chat Noir or anything. In fact, it seemed quite the opposite, to be honest. Alya had smiled to herself at the sight. It seemed like the LadyNoir ship was setting sail afterall._

_I wonder what Chat Noir did to finally get Ladybug to notice him..._

_..._

_"Hello, Alya!" the red, ladybug-esque figure squeaked out._

_CCCUUUUUUUUUTE._

_"Hello, Nino! It's so nice to meet both of you!" She was so sweet, and tiny, and so, so, cute._

_Deadly, icy blue orbs suddenly locked onto Chat._

_"Chat Noir."_

_Scary._

_Ladybug's Kwami was SCARY._

* * *

"Oooh-kay, it's time to go, Marinette!"

Alya hurriedly grabbed onto Marinette's hand and pulled her down the hall.

Alya Césaire was a darn  _great_ reporter in her own right. And, although she had  _no_ idea what the heck that tiny red thing was with the big buggy eyes, she knew  _fury_ when she saw it; and while Tikki (it  _was_ Tikki, right?) was all smiled when she had turned again to introduce herself to Alya and Nino, the little red bug was about to  _blow up_ on Chat Noir. Alya wanted to see it, mostly for curiosity's sake. But she did  _not_ want Marinette to see it. Something told her that the display of anything being angry at Chat Noir would not be something Marinette would approve of. Or let go lightly.

Marinette…Ladybug.

Alya was dragging  _Ladybug_ through her apartment.

She was taking  _Ladybug_ into her room and sitting her down and shoving her cell phone into her hand.

She was showing  _Ladybug_ (among literally thousands of pictures of the heroine herself) pictures of all them from the summer before when they had gone swimming and Alya had nabbed a few shots of a wet, shirtless Adrien for a nose-bleeding Marinette…a nose-bleeding Ladybug.

… _Ladybug_  had a huge, out-of-this-world crush on Adrien Agreste.

She couldn't help it. Alya laughed out loud at this realization.

_No wonder she never gave Chat Noir any attention,_ Alya mused as she watched her shy best friend/superheroine of Paris ogle the man-candy on the phone screen. She hoped Adrien would forgive her for allowing Marinette to objectify him so wholeheartedly. But the fact that Adrien had a crush on Ladybug meant that it would probably be ok…right?

On her way to go listen at her door to the conversation on the other side, something in Alya's train of thought screeched to an abrupt stop. Suddenly, in Alya's mind's eye, she could see a tangle of red strings of fate all tied around four different people that had suddenly become three. Ladybug really  _was_ Marinette. And Ladybug liked Adrien…but now she was suddenly chasing after Chat Noir? And Chat Noir  _knew_ her, it seemed…at least enough to know that Marinette knew Alya, and that she might be able to help Chat out with her best friend... And Chat Noir had  _hypnotized_ her!? But she was all over Adrien as well…? She acknowledged to herself that it explained Marinette's behavior through the day today…sort of? At least, it explained Ladybug being unable to keep her gloved mitts off of a certain black cat.

Obviously she seemed to have a thing for finely-built blonds with green eyes.

Chat Noir's frantic voice rang out from the other side of the door. Alya froze for a moment before whipping her head toward Marinette. Marinette had paused in her viewing pleasure, her head cocked to the side, but didn't move from her spot. Alya wondered just how much was actually getting through those glazed-over eyes. It was almost painful to watch.

At least her girl was getting somewhere with a guy, though…right? And…Alya would be lying to say that she didn't hope her Ladynoir ship to set sail any moment.

_Anchors away…!_

With a smile on her face, Alya cracked open the door to her room and tried to listen past the sounds of Marinette's lovesick sighs and giggles.

Most of the voices were too low for Alya to hear correctly, though she did recognize her boyfriend's low hum. The sound warmed her heart with familiarity. There was a stillness in the apartment, followed suddenly by a flash of green light.  _Now_ Alya was  _really_ curious.

_Did Chat Noir seriously just de-transform in my apartment!?_

"Alya! Alya, hehe! Look at this, Alya!"

Marinette was at Alya's side, poking her arm. Alya only turned her head when she realized Marinette was not going to stop.

Only for her to regret it immediately. All Marinette had to show her was how she figured out how to open the Doodle App with the pictures on her phone. She had subsequently drawn tiny hearts all over a picture of Adrien. Alya felt like she was babysitting a tall Manon playing with dolls.

"Ha!" she said in a voice that sounded fake even to her. "That's, uh, great, Marinette!"

Giggling again, Marinette turned and leaned against Alya while Alya strained to listen through the crack in the door again.

"You know he still owes me a kiss," Marinette sighed like a lovesick Disney princess. Alya only shook her head in reply.

"Can I see the video and pictures now, please?"

Alya heard a sweet, high-pitched voice she knew belonged to Tikki.

In the same thought that recognized the little voice, Alya's mind also grasped onto another:  _What video and pictures?_

Chat Noir was mumbling something in reply. Funny…now that she heard him speaking in a calm, shy tone, he sounded almost familiar. Though Alya assumed it was probably because she used up about 40 hours of her week watching, listening, recording, and editing videos of the superduo for the Ladyblog.

A new voice could be heard now, and even from this side of the door, the only word that came to Alya's mind to describe it was "snarky".

"Alya!"

Alya jumped at the sudden sound of Marinette's voice. She had almost forgotten that Ladybug was in her room.

"Alya, look!" Marinette continued, scooting up right behind Alya and shaking her arm. There was excited desperation in her voice that finally pulled Alya away from her eavesdropping.

" _What,_ Marinette?"

"Are you listening to Chat Noir? Is he still out there? Can I go see him? I mean, look at  _this_ hottie," she shoved the phone into Alya's face. Alya pushed the picture of Adrien that had been zoomed in on his face facial features back to Marinette. "But I really, just…I really  _need_ to see Chat."

"Yes, Marinette, he's still here."

There was more silence from the living room. Then she heard Tikki laughing.

"So can I see him?" she giggled, excitedly.

"Y- _No!_ No, Marinette, I don't think that's a good idea right now."

Marinette tugged on Alya's sleeve. "Pleeease, Alya!"

Alya was getting a little frustrated. She needed to hear this conversation!

"Marinette, just…draw cat ears or something on Adrien! Maybe that will make you feel better."

The giggles that Marinette suddenly spouted out were so full of pure joy, Alya felt a smile tug at her own lips.

As quickly as the giggles had started, however, Marinette had gone completely silent. Without any further warning, the girl had sprung to her feet, tugging at the door. Alya's phone clattered to the wood floor.

"Let me out, Alya!" Marinette almost whimpered desperately, sounding like a wounded Prima Donna on performance night. Seriously. The drama this girl possessed….

"No, it's alright, Marinette, really!" Alya replied, trying to keep her tone light and  _normal_. Like she didn't just body block Ladybug from escaping her room.  _Normal._ "Just go back to looking at your pictures, girl! I took those for you, you know."

Marinette's eyes were wide and she twiddled her fingers together nervously. Alya saw one of her hands go down to her open purse at her side. The purse, Alya realized, must have held Tikki this whole time. No wonder she carried it around with her  _everywhere_.

"Alya…" Marinette pleaded, hands slapping either side of her face while she took a moment to try to glance out the door. She tried getting passed Alya again.

Thankful for once that she wasn't in the same room as a _transformed_  Ladybug, Alya put out a hand to physically keep Marinette in her room. They got into a bit of a scuffle, Alya straining all her muscles just to keep  _one_ of Marinette's hands from prying open the door.

"What is your  _deal_ , Little Lady?" Alya pushed out through clenched teeth. Marinette had gone almost dead weight, leaning onto Alya…the force was more than Alya would have thought possible of her thin-framed friend. Frustrated and getting tired, Alya broke down a little and tried a distraction tactic. "What's Chat to you anyway? I mean, other than your partner."

"Alya, I  _need_ to see him.  _Now_."

Alya swallowed hard at the new look in Marinette's eyes. She was all Ladybug in that moment; the fierce blue was like a lightning storm. It was terrifying.

"J-Just wait here, Marinette. They'll come get you in a moment, I'm sure."

"Alya. Move."

Alya bit her lip. Her eyes darted around the floor, and she spied her phone. Reaching down, she gingerly picked up the phone, amber eyes widening.

There, on her screen, were pictures of Chat Noir.

Which, really, wouldn't seem like a big deal – it was Alya's phone after all…but these weren't  _normal_ pictures of Chat Noir. These were pictures of  _Adrien Agreste_  that had been colored on – just like  _she_ had done those years ago when she had suspected the model once upon a time – and this particular picture of Adrien was especially incriminating. The model, feeling particularly freed from inhibitions at that moment, had just shaken out his hair like a cat to soak a deserving Nino. It had left his hair draping over his forehead and ears in loose, floppy locks.

Just like Chat Noir.

The hand drawn ears, bell, suit, mask, and cartoon whiskers definitely helped to solidify the appearance.

Suddenly the last piece of the puzzle she had been working through slapped itself into place.

Ladybug –  _Marinette_ – was suddenly as crazy over Chat Noir as she was Adrien because…because…Adrien  _was_ Chat Noir.

Alya had had a front row seat watching Marinette spend the last three years obsessing over a boy who had only recently began to show some reciprocated feelings toward her. Meanwhile, said girl,  _Ladybug_ , had been adamant about rebuffing the advances of her superhero partner who happened to be…her…crush.

Alya's eye twitched.

A sudden grip on her upper arm drew Alya's attention back to the blue-eyes-of-death look Marinette was currently giving her.

"Alya, I'm leaving this room now. If you try to stop me, remember that I have been well-versed in a very,  _very_ wide variety of combat, martial arts, and good ol' fashion fisticuff styles for the last three years, not to mention that I am a solidly-built muscle machine. I do  _not_ want to hurt you, but there's a boy out there who has some answers to some serious questions I have."

Alya really did  _not_ think that it was a good idea for Marinette to go out there right now.

But she did  _not_ want to be Miraculous fodder.

So, hesitantly, she stood and opened the door for her idol and super hero of Paris.

She should have fought harder.

The scene in the living room could have been set out of a movie. Adrien Agreste was standing at the window, looking at Nino, the sun making his blond hair shine like a halo around his head. Tikki floated next to him, and they seemed to be in a deep discussion. Adrien looked somewhere between downcast and lovestruck, a slight blush touching the apples of his cheeks.

How the heck had Alya  _not_ noticed the similarities between Model Agreste and Sanguine Noir before was almost embarrassing to Alya.

Marinette had stopped abruptly, Alya nearly running into her. Though their run was short, Alya noticed Marinette's chest was heaving, her cheeks flushed. Realization hit Alya again at the look in Marinette's widened eyes.30

She really,  _really_ should have fought harder to keep Marinette in that room. For whatever it would have done to  _her_  ultimately, she could have perhaps delayed Marinette long enough to keep her best friend from hearing the next words.

"I… _No!_  I c-can't," Adrien muttered out. He walked back to the window, running a hand through his hair as he looked out over the city. "I just can't do this to her. I don't  _want_ to kiss Marinette. Not like this."

Alya's audible gasp was only covered by the sound of Marinette's. And for as much as Ladybug actually  _resembled_ a bug, there was nothing short of bug-like in the wideness of her eyes in that moment.

**20 minutes prior**

The door clicked down the hall. There were a few moments of quiet except for Nino's TV show as Tikki simply… _fumed_. It was hard to be intimidated, though; all Chat wanted to do was snuggle the little red Kwami, maybe even let her nest in his hair like Plagg tried to do every once in a while (which  _never_ would happen while Adrien was conscious).

"What do you have to say for yourself?" the little red bug finally spoke, breaking into Chat's little Kwami-snuggle imaginations. Her floating stance morphed into zipping back and forth in a way that Chat found equal parts frightening and incredibly endearing.

Without warning, little tears started to gather in his eyes, overcome by cuteness. It completely matched the gesture that followed the built-up emotion: clasped fingers resting under Chat's chin as he stared adoringly at the little Kwami.

"Ooohh I'm so sorry, Tikki," he finally cooed toward the magical creature. He could only stare on, trying not to let the cuteness-overload tears leak out of his eyes. Meanwhile, he was met with sweetest, scariest look he had ever seen.

_Focus_ , he reminded himself.  _And for GOODNESS' SAKE, GET SOME HELP!_

"I, uh…" Adrien swallowed thickly, coughing to clear away the unnecessary emotion. A sudden worry took him over. What would Tikki think of him after he leaked out his confession? What would she  _do_? Somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembered reading somewhere that the blood of a ladybug is poisonous. While that had seemed farfetched to him before, standing here before Tikki, a red ladybug Kwami darting back and forth dangerously,  _giving him the stink-eye_ , Chat could totally see the truth in it now.

"Tikki, it was an accident!" The words poured out like a plea to the Kwami. Adrien took a step back, arms flailing wildly, as if he was losing balance. "I know her, like,  _actually_ know her, as Aaaa – aaaas my civilian self. And I somehow…well…hypnotized her?" The words almost entirely failed him at the end, trailing into an ill-formed question. Tikki stopped swerving back and forth; she seemed to only be able to fix him with a shocked look.

Taking the silence as a chance to continue with the story, Chat rushed on.

"I don't know how it  _actually_ happened – honest! Like, I don't know why she's been…all… _over_ …me…lately.  _No_ idea." He sighed deeply before a crazy giggle trickled out. "Honestly, when I did it, I didn't think it would  _work_ , first of all. It was just – I was just messing around, 'cause Marinette can be so, um, uptight sometimes, you know? And then, I expected her to fall asleep because that was the only thing that I asked her to do or whatever! But now she's  _all over me all the time and I don't know how to deal with it!_ " Chat ended his monologue, rubbing his hands roughly over his face as if he would be able to wash all of the embarrassment away like a smudge on his cheek.

To his surprise, instead of being met with more anger, Adrien heard tiny giggling from the other side of his hands. Peeking out from behind them, he saw Tikki regarding him still. This time, though, her eyes sparkled with something like amusement.

"I took…pictures," Chat suddenly remembered, voice muffled behind clawed hands still resting at his mouth. On top of trying to figure out where to go from here, Chat was hoping to take some of the attention off himself and his obvious mistakes. "O-On my phone. I…recorded some video too. I could show you but…" Chat and Tikki both looked to Nino while the question implied from Chat's statement died in the air.

Nino was about halfway through his large plate of food and looking a lot calmer than he had earlier. He had abandoned the TV – especially seeing as Chat and Tikki were sort of parked in front of it. Instead, he sat scrolling on his phone. At the lull in the conversation, he only flicked his gaze to the pair before going back to looking at his phone and shoving another huge forkful of randomness into his mouth.

"Go ahead," he said through another mouthful. "Don't mind me."

"But you can't know my identity!"

"But you can't know his identity!"

Chat and Tikki spoke together, arms opening wide in matching gestures of shock and exasperation.

Nino only replied with a rankled look at both of him. Then he returned to scrolling through his phone, pointing his fork in Chat's direction.

" _That's_ Adrien," he said flatly. Both Chat and Tikki gasped at this and looked at each other. "And he has a little black…whatever-you-are–" he gestured a swirling fork toward Tikki "–that looks like a cat. Name's Plagg. Funny guy. Cracks some mean jokes."

At this Nino chuckled to himself. When he flicked his eyes back up to the other two, he rolled his eyes at their looks of shock.

" _This_  dude is  _not_ subtle! He talks to his shirt all the time, and Plagg is just as bad, floating around his head and bag whenever they  _think_ no one's there. And when you," – he spoke directly to Chat now – "Marinette, and Alya disappear all  _at the same time_ , when an Akuma attack just  _happens_ to appear, it doesn't take a genius to figure out where you go." Another forkful of food went into his mouth. He slurped up a stray noodle before continuing. "I waited, and when I realized that you  _did_ know about Marinette being Ladybug, I couldn't stand it anymore." He swallowed and shrugged. "I told you about her crush on you,  _hoping_ you'd take some  _initiative_.  _This_ , though, is  _not_ what I had in mind." His fork swirled up some more noodles. "Although, I have to admit, it is rather effective. Sort of."

The apartment was completely silent except for the low hum of the forgotten TV. Chat could only stare at Nino in shock, suddenly imagining Nino rolling his eyes or putting his headphones on any time he was left alone to his own devices at school or a restaurant – wherever the group of friends would be when an attack would happen. As reality continued to sink in more and more, a breathy laugh popped out unwittingly from Chat's mouth. He looked over when he felt a presence by his face. His gaze was met by the bulbous blue eyes of Tikki, a laugh crinkling the corners of her wide eyes.

So Nino had his own superpowers. Among them: super-awesomeness.

Without another pause, Chat gave up his transformation. Following the flash of green, a small, black, cat-like blob zoomed out, a disgruntled whine spitting out of his mouth. The entire sight and sound reminded Adrien of a balloon being released of its air. Shaking his head in amusement, Adrien held his hands together out in front of him, palms up. The Kwami of destruction zipped dramatically through the air some more, and, to Adrien's surprise, bypassed the welcoming hands and went straight for the boy on the couch. When Plagg landed on Nino's plate, Nino barely batted an eye. Instead, the DJ fished out some cheese pieces and scooted them over to the crashed cat.

Nino's story blew Adrien's mind. But seeing  _this_ particular interaction nearly caused his fuses to malfunction.

"What?" Nino and Plagg asked simultaneously, looking between Adrien and Tikki.

"Little dude got into my bag once, thinking my headphone case was a wheel of cheese. Recognized him. We talked over lunch one day."

Nino explained this all like it was no big deal. Plagg went on eating his cheese.

Adrien remembered a day when there was an Akuma and, when Adrien went to transform, he wasn't able to find Plagg  _anywhere_. By the time he had finally found Plagg – floating around in his bag he had searched through at  _least_ 20 times – Ladybug had already been fighting by herself for half an hour. She was  _not_ pleasant that day.

Adrien scowled at his Kwami.

Before anything else could be said, however, Adrien felt something on his still-outstretched palms. Looking down, he saw Tikki had settled there. She was looking fondly  _into_ him; Adrien felt like she knew more than she was letting on, like she could read his mind.

"Can I see the video and pictures now, please?" Tikki said in her high, sweet voice.

"Oh, uh," Adrien stammered, pulling out his phone from his pocket with one hand, holding Tikki still with the other. "Yeah, sure–"

"Ooohh of Marinette, right?" Plagg called out, a wide smile plastering itself on his smug little face. "From the library? You'll have  _plenty_ to choose from."

"Plagg, it was like,  _maybe_ 20 pics!"

Plagg laughed out loud at this. " _Twenty_? Times that by ten, lover-boy."

Adrien's lips pursed in embarrassment as his scowl deepened toward his betraying Kwami. He felt the warmth rise in his cheeks, but he tried hard to ignore it,  _and_ the snickering little cat-fairy.

Eventually they looked through the pictures. Adrien wouldn't admit to Plagg that he had had the best estimate for the amount of candid photos he snapped.

"Hmm…" Tikki was zooming around Adrien again, resuming her back and forth motion and making Adrien more nervous than before. "Adrien, I'm not really seeing anything here that could help. Maybe if we watch the video, we'll get a better idea of what exactly we're dealing with."

Adrien sighed, nodding. Scrolling again through the pictures in his search for the video, he felt like he had aged 10 years in just the last few days. While all of these pictures were taken by a boy just trying to joke around with his crush, the person passing through them now just wanted to free his Lady from whatever spell he had put her under, no matter where that left him, no matter what she thought of him afterward.

Rubbing a hand through his hair and down his face, Adrien sighed again. With a few quick steps he joined Nino on the couch, slumping into the cushions and letting his muscles relax a little for the first time that day. Tikki and Plagg floated in front of his screen when he hit 'play'. Curious, Nino paused his own show to watch Adrien's own clip.

" _Hey, Sleeping Beauty_ ," Adrien's own voice rang out into the open. " _Someone's a sleepy little princess today. Oh gosh, her eyes are still open!_   _Princess, shut your eyes!_ "

A snort sounded, and everyone turned a surprise eye to Tikki. She had her two little arms covering her mouth, seeming to regret what she had just done.

"That's – er –  _not_ funny," she squeaked out, crossing her arms over her chest.

They returned to watching the movie, Adrien holding in a chuckle when Plagg nudged Tikki's shoulder and Tikki retaliating by flapping her little arms back at him. Much like the blue-haired girl was now doing in the mini movie.

" _Shhh…._ " Adrien's voice was going on. Another blush stole across Chat's real-life cheeks as he watched his fingers on the screen pull across his sleepy princess's eyes, drawing them closed with the motion.

There had been plenty of times when Adrien had wanted to kiss Marinette.  _Plenty_ of times, both as Marinette and Ladybug. But, in that moment, watching her in this sleepy, vulnerable state, he wanted nothing more to find the girl in question, pull her to him and kiss her until he couldn't move anymore. The need built up in his chest, a bubbling floating from his fingers to his toes.

A hand on his shoulder drew Adrien back to reality. He blinked a few times, realizing that the movie had ended. Without realizing it, he had grabbed onto his shirt right at his heart and was gripping it tight enough his knuckles had gone white. His body was trembling slightly.

"You okay, man?" Nino asked, bending his head down so he could see Adrien's face better. The grip on Adrien's shoulder tightened momentarily. All Adrien could do was nod in reply. Tikki placed a little arm on his chest. Even Plagg kept quiet as he looked at his charge. Adrien cleared his throat, rising from his seat suddenly. The tightness in his chest was becoming something close to unbearable, the emotion threatening to come out through his eyes.

How could he have let this happen? Granted, it was  _not_ on purpose. At least everyone else knew this now. And while he definitely couldn't deny he had enjoyed the ego boost the last few days, the guilt that came with it was threatening to completely undo him.

"We need to fix this," he said out loud, though he wondered if everyone else could tell that it was more for him than anyone else. Tucking his phone under his crossed arms, he looked down at his shuffling feet, moving to stand in front of the window.

A ding sounded on his phone. He ignored it. Another ding sounded…and then another.

Sighing, and knowing who it probably was, Adrien went to answer the message, if only to stem the incoming flow.

**Chloé:** oh my gosh, Adrikins! ladybug and chat noir are totally a thing!

**Chloé:** its all over the news

**Chloé:** kinda romantic right? :-*

Adrien froze. A thousand thoughts were racing through his head. Something needed to connect but wasn't. Ladybug and Chat Noir were together? Psh. He  _wished._ But  _he_  hadn't said anything. At least, not this time. When the press had come, they were already long gone. Well, everyone except for…

Shoot.

He  _had_ left Ladybug alone.

Grimacing at his lack of forethought, Adrien dragged his thumb up and down the text screen, debating how to answer, or even if he  _could_ answer. His eyes skimmed the messages, and he smiled, bemused, when he read Chloé's messages from that Saturday before.

_Love me…_ he said to himself, shaking his head as he had before.

_Love me._

Love me.

Oh. Oh, no.

"Oh my gosh, I know what happened."

Adrien groaned loudly, pulling his arms up to rest his head on while he leaned against the window. He squinted his eyes shut in frustration – frustration at himself, at the situation, and at his darned slip-of-the-tongue.

Immediately he was met by a little red bug.

"What are you talking about, Adrien?"

"Chloé…she sent me this message on Saturday…" Adrien chuckled slightly when Tikki glared at just the mention of the name before angrily staring at the phone to read the message. "And I might have read some of it out loud while Marinette was passed out. Like, you know, the "love me" part."

"Ooohh. Oh,  _Adrien_."

To his surprise, the reprimand from the Kwami never came. Instead, Tikki started laughing. Hard. Adrien patiently waited for some type of advice or explanation he hoped would follow the onslaught of mirth. When it didn't look like the laughing fit would end any time soon, Adrien cleared his throat, shuffling from one foot to the other, placing a hand on his hip (he didn't  _mean_ to pose all the time, it just  _happened_ ).

"So, uh, what should I do, Tikki?"

Tikki wiped a tear from one of her big blue eyes.

"Oh, Adrien, this explains so  _much_! She already  _loves_ you, she's just been trying too hard to  _prove_  it to you!"

That ache came back into Adrien's chest. It was heating him from the inside out, though his skin felt suddenly clammy.

"She…she  _loves_ me?"

From the couch, a collective groan sounded. Adrien scowled at the sound, then resisted a smile when he eyed the troublesome duo. Nino had his headphones on, but on one side Plagg had squeezed his bulbous head between Nino's ear and one of the headphones. They were watching something on Nino's phone.

"You told me she only had a crush!" Adrien spat at Nino.

Nino only shook his head in answer, making Plagg's little body sway back and forth with the motion, before waving a resigned hand in Adrien's direction. Tikki shook her head as well, her smile still wide and warm.

"Oh, but don't worry! There may be several solutions to this, Adrien!" Tikki said happily. Before Tikki could say any more though, and before Adrien could respond, Plagg's lazy drawl came from the couch.

"Just kiss her and get it over with"

Adrien blanched.

" _Plagg_!" Tikki hissed at him.

"Don't tell me he doesn't want to," Plagg responded lazily.

"Oh, he  _does_ ," Nino chirped in, handing a piece of cheese over to Plagg, who took it eagerly.

" _Nino!_ " Adrien sputtered.

" _What!?_ It's not like it's a big secret."

"Only as much of a secret as Marinette being in love with him," Plagg chimed. The two on the couch laughed, Nino reaching out a finger to give Plagg a high-1.

"Actually, Adrien," Tikki spoke again, looking thoughtful. " _Have_ you kissed her yet?"

"Well, I mean, I –"

"It's not hard to remember the number of times, when it's  _zero_ ," Plagg interrupted.

Adrien pointed angrily at Plagg, who completely ignored him.

"No, I haven't," Adrien finally admitted, turning his gaze back to Tikki.

"I didn't think so," Tikki replied. "But it may help!"

"How do you figure?"

"Well, everyone has specific touch receptors, a way to fill and rebalance their qi. While there are certain points which people like healers or even martial arts masters use in general, everyone has their own specific touch point or points to rebalance and calm their inner selves." Tikki flew a circle around Adrien's head before settling on floating right in front of his face. "Marinette's could very well be on the lips!"

Adrien gulped. Marinette's…lips. Pink, pretty, plump…soft-looking.

Adrien gulped again. Especially at the thought that this would somehow  _help_ this situation, that this might be a way to rebalance her, or…something. That it might have to happen a lot.

"Have you noticed any other spots that have calmed her down at all?"

Was Tikki still talking? Maybe. Adrien was busy replaying one of the many fantasies he stored away in his mind that always concluded in kissing Marinette. Or  _started_ with kissing Marinette, and ended with kissing her a  _lot_.

"…here, why don't you just go and ask her right now?"

That was Nino's voice.

"Hm?" Adrien replied, eyes closed, and body impossibly warm.

" _Bro_."

Adrien jumped when someone suddenly pushed on his head. He looked to see Nino there, a knowing smirk on his face, an empty plate and dirty fork in his hand.

"I said, she's  _here_. Just go kiss her. I'm sure she wouldn't say 'no'." He started walking toward the kitchen, his voice carrying from the other side of the row of cabinets separating the space. "She's been teasing you all day with it anyway."

Adrien didn't think his face could get any warmer.

Marinette most definitely  _wouldn't_ say no.

And to Adrien, that was a bit of the problem.

"I… _No!_  I c-can't," Adrien muttered out. He walked back to the window, running a hand through his hair as he looked over his city.  _Their_ city. "I just can't do this to her. I don't  _want_ to kiss Marinette. Not like this."

So…he probably should have chosen his words a little better.

Adrien and Tikki whipped around when dual gasps sounded behind them. Nino and Plagg peeked through the crack between the top and bottom cabinets from the kitchen. Adrien didn't miss the grimace on Nino's face.

Adrien had no hope that Marinette hadn't heard what he said. Her eyes were wider than he'd ever seen them.

"Ah! Marinette, th-that's  _not_ what I meant."

"Tikki…" Marinette muttered, not taking her watery eyes off of Adrien. " _Spots on!_ "

She was already running toward the balcony while her spotted outfit formed over her slender frame. In a fluidity that Adrien had admired  _way_ more than once, Ladybug wrenched open the door and shot her yo-yo straight up the side of the building. In a moment, she was gone.

Adrien ran after her, forgetting for a moment that he wasn't Chat Noir.

"LADYBUG!" he shouted after her, ramming into the banister from the momentum he had built up running out onto the balcony. An hand gripping his arm kept him from tumbling over the edge as he looked up.

"She knows," Alya muttered. When he looked at her, she pulled her eyes away from where Marinette had disappeared over the top of the building. She held out her phone. Adrien grabbed it, constantly flicking his eyes back up to the sky. On the screen of Alya's phone was a picture of him as Chat Noir – no, wait, it was a picture of him as Adrien. Adrien knew that Alya had lied about a new summer line, so this had to have been from some time they had gone swimming together. It was a nice candid photo, sure, but scribbled all over it was a sloppy black outfit and mask, accompanied by a little yellow bell. He – Adrien – looked like Chat Noir.

Shoving the phone back into Alya's hands, Adrien wasted no more time before running inside, only mustering enough sense in the tense moment to remind himself to not stand on a public balcony to transform.

"Plagg! Claws out!"

A moment later, Chat Noir ran out to the balcony. As he opened his staff's screen, Alya, who was still out there, looked over his shoulder. Nino appeared by him a moment later, mimicking Alya's gaze.

On the screen was a flashing ladybug icon moving through a map of Paris.

"What are you going to do now?" Alya asked, sounding a little breathless.

Chat jumped onto the railing, memorizing the route he would take and where he would try to head off Ladybug. Closing the screen on his staff, he answered Alya without even looking back.

"I'm going to go win back my lady."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if there are any errors. I didn't have a lot of time for editing! And THANK YOU for reading, even though it's been so long since the last update! I lost my notebook that had all my story info…so…I had to rewrite. And yeah. Thank you SO MUCH, and leave a comment! I love your love! n.n  
> THANK YOU for all the Kudos, bookmarks, subscribes, and comments!! I could spend a lifetime explaining it, but…I could never fully express how much that means to me. <3 <3 <3  
> ...  
> Also…anyone up for some Ladynoir next chapter? (8  
> ...  
> And…the reason Adrien doesn't want to kiss her like this is…well…
> 
>  
> 
> ….really sweet. He's so sweet. And silly. Hehe. ;)
> 
> (Check me out on tumblr for fun, artwork, or...whatever else you feel like doing. (3 )


	7. You Wanna Pizza Me!? ...Pizza My Heart.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who loves Chat?  
> Ladybug and Ladybug love Chat!  
> Wait...what?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Order up for LadyNoir, and…who ordered the MariChat? (8

_Previously:_

_"I…No! I c-can't," Adrien muttered out. He walked back to the window, running a hand through his hair as he looked over his city. Their city. "I just can't do this to her. I don't want to kiss Marinette. Not like this."_

_So…he probably should have chosen his words a little better._

_Adrien and Tikki whipped around when dual gasps sounded behind them. Nino and Plagg peeked through the crack between the top and bottom cabinets from the kitchen. Adrien didn't miss the grimace on Nino's face._

_Adrien had no hope that Marinette hadn't heard what he said. Her eyes were wider than he'd ever seen them._

_"Ah! Marinette, th-that's not what I meant."_

_"Tikki…" Marinette muttered, not taking her watery eyes off of Adrien. "Spots on!"_

* * *

 

If you would have asked Adrien Agreste, famous male model, what he would be doing that day, he probably would have spouted off his rehearsed schedule, ending with piano practice or something equally quiet and solidary in his mansion.

If you would have asked Adrien Agreste, son of Gabriel Agreste, fashion mogul, what his plans for the day included, he would have answered in the affirmative to school, some sort of practice, and a quiet drive home.

Adrien Agreste, award-winning fencer, basketball player, and foosball enthusiast, did  _not_ think that he would be watching the sun set over Paris while tied head-to-toe with a magical yo-yo, facing down the love of his life whom he had accidentally hypnotized into trying to prove her undying love for him and making his life a crazy pit of randomness.

So you could say that Adrien Agreste was having an  _off_ day.

For the record, he blamed this particular predicament on Plagg.

For some reason, in the middle of trying to tail Ladybug to explain to her that what he  _had_ said was not what he had  _meant_ to say and what he  _wanted_ to say sounded a whole lot  _nicer_ than what had left his wide-open trap, the ladybug-shaped blip on his GPS suddenly flickered out. Seeing as how he had been caught moments later, Adrien – as Chat Noir – broke it down to Plagg continuing to pull out all the stops in all things "bad luck". The black cat would laugh to himself about it later. Meanwhile, Chat Noir dangled helplessly by one of the bell towers of Notre Dame, watching with wary eyes at a surprisingly calm Ladybug circle around him with a grin that didn't seem quite like herself.

As Chat hung there, spinning, he contemplated which placating phrase to use first. His mouth, as per usual, worked a little faster than his brain did. It also tended to completely bypass his intellectual filter.

"Ladybug! Wh-What...Why didn't you show up on my screen anymore? No, wait, GAH, not important! L-Ladybug, I-I-I didn't mean what I said! Back there! I mean, I  _meant_ it, but not in the way I  _said_ it. I mean – what I'm trying to say is I'm s-s-sorry! Please,  _please don't be mad at me_ , I-I – we can work this out! Talk. We talk! We talk all the time!"

Such suave. Much smooth.

Guh. Word vomit does  _not_ taste good coming out.

A sound between a growl and a groan emitted from Chat. His frustration only added to the pulsing in his head that was growing stronger every second he was left upside down. This wasn't going well. And what made it worse was that he knew he deserved it. Everything.

Chat's eyes suddenly popped open at the sound of Ladybug giggling.

Of all the reactions he expected – smacking him being at or near the top of the list, next to dropping him in the Seine –  _giggling_ was not one of them. As he rotated slowly, he watched through strained eyes as Ladybug's cute little frame shook with mirth. The sight, however, brought something that felt like the  _opposite_ of relief to his bones. Instead of the freeing feeling her particular tittering usually brought him, Chat couldn't help but think that maybe her sudden and obvious emotional constipation was brought on by the confounded hypnosis; like she wasn't able to express her true feelings and really  _be angry_.

"Oh, Kitten…" Ladybug whispered breathily to him while she walked closer. Chat's breath hitched when her fingers ghosted across his cheek. "How could anyone ever stay mad at you?"

BAHAHA. Yup. Hypnosis.

Chat breathed out a snort, simultaneously wondering how he would explain this all to Ladybug later and if this topic would ever reach a not-too-sensitive-to-talk-about range so he could tease her about it.

All thoughts stopped when Ladybug's fingers began to trail around the edges of his jaw. As if the feline-themed superhero need more blood to rush to his head. Ladybug, either seeming to not sense his distress or playing at some ulterior motive (a real possibility), only bent lower, pressing her knees to the ground and sitting up on them to be level with Chat's hanging face.

"L-L-Ladybug…" Had Chat always been able to reach that high of an octave? Throat suddenly feeling strangled, Chat coughed slightly. "W-Wait –!"

"Sshhhh…" Ladybug cooed, bringing her face closer to his. Her other hand, which had,  _curse_ her, been trailing lightly through his hair, came up to the other side of his face. Her breath was hot on his face, and through his enhanced hearing in the momentary stillness, he could detect every distinct heartbeat pulsing from his lady…

Hm.

But…

_I can't be_ that  _stalkerish, right?_

But Chat couldn't deny what he was hearing. Maybe it was the blood rushing to his head. But Chat Noir  _knew_ his partner. He had spent so many quiet patrol nights just  _listening_ – she had assumed it was just companionable silence, and, truthfully, it  _was_ ; neither of them would outwardly make a sound on those peaceful nights. But he had spent those quiet, silent late nights doing more than just enjoying the company of his partner. Namely, practicing on honing his feline senses by practicing on Ladybug.

(He should probably stop trying new things out on Ladybug, but that was a thought for another time.)

It had started when he realized he could hear her breathing. Slow and steady while they rested, fast and hitching when she sensed trouble. The next few times were focused on sitting quietly,  _breathing_ quietly, just to count each of her individual inhales and exhales. It was methodic, peaceful,  _familiar_. During these exercises, he realized something else beating through the night air. The sound combatted against the still regularity of Ladybug's breathing. This sound, while steadily rhythmic, sounded trapped, caged. That was when Chat had started sitting back to back with Ladybug on these nights. He would sit and listen –  _feel_ – her  _heart_.

Chat could tell a lot more from Ladybug's heart than anything she ever shared with him. Through careful listening, he could sit and  _feel_ the thoughts that raced through her mind. Thick and slow…he could imagine mundane things. Racing…something that she feared. Labored, pounding…a crush. It was a soothing white noise he could easily recall to help him sleep, and a radiating lighthouse through moments of sadness.

He  _knew_ his lady's heart.

And this,  _this_ Ladybug, was  _not_ his Lady.

The metaphorical hackles rose and Chat froze. His skin exploded with goosebumps under his protective magic armor.

Ladybug was kissing his cheek, and he peeked out to spy on her trembling fingers, hoping to catch a glimpse of her face to study her more. That's when he saw it. On her finger was…a black  _Chat Noir_ ring.

For a moment, Chat panicked, shaking himself away from the Ladybug wannabe for a moment and glancing up at his dangling body. He was still Chat, right? That wasn't  _his_ ring, was it!? The movement made his vision go blurry, but he was able to relax a little a moment later when he saw he was still covered in his black garb.

Ladybug had pulled away slightly when Chat had started flailing against his restraints. She looked a little worried, and Chat knew he was dealing with someone – some _thing_ – different than  _HIS_ Lady. So, as he had done countless times before, Chat decided to try to talk himself out of this.

"Is everything alright, Kitten?" Ladyfake asked him, fingers laced together in fists below her chin, eyes wide.

"M'Lady," Chat blinked slowly, trying to lay on the charm a little thicker than normal. "I, uh, I'm getting a little dizzy. Mind helping a cat out?" With his signature smarmy smirk, he nodded upward toward the yo-yo holding him aloft. "I'd like to be able to really enjoy what we have going here."

The stranger in bug clothing flushed maroon. "Oh! Oh, Kitten, oh I'm so,  _so_ sorry."

As Ladyfake started to lower Chat gently to the ground, Chat had to suppress a snort. This was  _definitely_ not Ladybug – Ladybug never hesitated to drop him on his butt, just for giggles, hypnotized or not.

Chat laid on the ground for a moment, stretching out his limbs while his head tried desperately to remove some of the blood that had built up there. His cheeks still felt uncomfortably warm when he saw Ladyfake's face hovering about his own. With his cat-like reflexes, Chat hopped to his feet straight into a kitty crouch, turning to face Ladyfake and taking her by the hand. With the most seductively look he could muster, he raised the imposter's fingers to his lips. While he brushed his lips across her knuckles, she shivered, and he took the opportunity to look down at the ring on her finger.

In size and shape, the ring mimicked closely his own. On closer inspection, however, he could make out the slightly chipped paint and the worn spots that betrayed its fraudulence.

"So, Ladybug…" he purred, smiling up at her again. "Where'd you get this ring?"

Ladyfake was frozen in place. Her cheeks still held a rosy hue. The resemblance to his own Ladybug was becoming a little unbearable.

Oh how Chat wished Ladybug would look at him like  _that._

"Vendor," Ladyfake whispered back, the word seeming to escape before she realized she had even answered. "A-At a side-market. By the Seine." She looked away bashfully for a moment and the heartstrings in Chat tangled into a tight knot. Seeing  _those looks_  on  _her face_ was doing things to him that he didn't care to think about right now.

"I really couldn't say no to having some part of you with me always."

There were two thoughts warring in Chat's head at this moment. The first was sweet adoration for this girl that seemed to like  _him_ so much that she was Akumatized…for some reason. The second was thinking that it was  _ABOUT DARN TIME_ that he  _finally_ got someone for him like Copycat was for Ladybug. Not that he would ever  _want_ anyone to be Akumatized, but he felt like three years was a bit of a long wait to spurn enough jealousy in someone that Hawk Moth actually took notice. His derision for Hawk Moth only grew at this thought.

"I…" Chat brought his thoughts back to the situation at hand, trying to force away imaginings of a jealous Ladybug coming to his rescue. The little fantasy may or may not have included a blond-haired prince trapped in a tower. He thought back to where the ladybug shape icon had disappeared on his GPS screen, and his mind whirred into a plan. "I want to take you on a date."

Ladyfake looked shocked for a moment. Honestly, the words were hard for Chat to comprehend too…he really couldn't blame her for her temporary silence.

"A-A-A-A  _DATE!?_ " she squealed loudly, her clasped fingers raising up with her voice, eyes growing impossibly wide. "Oh,  _CHAT!_ This is just like my favorite  _dream_!"

"Everyday with you is a dream, M'Lady," Chat responded with a wink. A red flush broke across Ladyfake's face again and she batted her eyes adoringly at Chat. It was a very Disney princess reaction, and Chat smiled in spite of himself. As he stood, he pulled Ladyfake up by the hand. "Ready?"

"But, Chat, where do superheroes go for a date?"

She giggled as Chat laughed heroically.

"Why, the best bakery in Paris, of course."

qpqpqpqpqp

Marinette stomped through her room, fired up beyond anything she could imagine.

A volcano probably blew out less steam than the trail pouring out through her ears at the moment.

She figured Chat would follow her home, and, admittedly, was disappointed that he hadn't shown yet. It was for more reasons than one, though. There were equal parts sparring roughly with themselves in her brain: one part wanted him to hold her while she cried, clawed fingers stroking her hair; one part wanted him to show up just so she could tie him up with her yo-yo and vault him off the balcony before pulling him back, then repeating the action over and over again; and the last part was that  _aggravating_ part of her that never felt sated – fulfilled – unless he was standing right  _there_  next to her. Thinking about this last part, though, only made the yo-yo option more and more appealing.

Marinette muttered in frustration again, ignoring Tikki's eye and whatever comforting look she was trying to pass on. Marinette didn't  _want_ to be consoled right now. There was too much to think about already, and starting a discussion with her Kwami when she didn't even have her own thoughts sorted was too much to deal with at the moment.

Chat Noir was Adrien Agreste.

Adrien Agreste knew she was Ladybug.

Adrien Agreste had  _hypnotized_ her.

Chat Noir had  _hypnotized her_.

_OH MY GOSH, CHAT NOIR IS ADRIEN AGRESTE! OH MY GOSH, I HAVE BEEN SHUTTING DOWN ADRIEN AGRESTE FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS! OH MY GOSH, ADRIEN HAS A_ TERRIBLE  _SENSE OF HUMOR!_

Picking up her previously discarded throw pillow, she shoved her face into it as she had just 2 minutes before and let out another scream.

The emotions were picking up each time she let out a release. The first time had been shock, the next anger, and, after this last one, Marinette found that sobs were beginning to rack her shaking frame. A soft pressure on her shoulder told her Tikki had found an opportunity to get close enough to her to not be shooed away and took advantage of it. A little arm stroked Marinette's neck while the bluenette screamed into her pillow again.

It could have been an hour, or it could have been a few minutes, but Marinette finally pulled her face out of her pillow in search of some fresh air. The tell-tale signs of swollen eyes made her face ache. As she sniffled again, she offered Tikki a watery glance. The Kwami offered a matching stare, and, not for the first time, Marinette appreciated the older sister she found in her little red fairy friend.

Over her shoulder a shadow pass over the trapdoor window. Heavy footfalls followed immediately afterward.

The burning in Marinette's cheeks resurfaced; she could  _feel_ the snarl on her lips.

_Kitty better be ready for a cat fight_.

With Ladybug abilities that seemed to be seeping more and more into her every day lifestyle, Marinette flipped over the railing of her stairs, springing up them four at a time before reaching the loft bed. Her fingers were on the trapdoor when she heard voices. Chat Noir's she could recognize immediately, but the other one…the other one sounded like….

"Marinette?" Tikki's face asked the question Marinette held at the edge of her tongue. With a swift glance to the ceiling and back, Marinette silently signaled for Tikki to take a peek. When the Kwami flitted out of sight, the voices suddenly became more distinguished, as if Chat Noir was  _hoping_ to be heard.

"-no place better than here,  _Ladybug_!" his voice rang out loudly. The feminine, very Ladybug-esque voice answered him back. He replied in kind. "Don't worry, M'Lady, I'll just drop down and see if anyone can help us! This is the super-secret superhero entrance, after all!" Another mumbling response, and…a giggle. Marinette's nerves flared in protest, every hair on her slim body raising defensively.

Tikki dashing down through the ceiling was the only warning she had before a familiar blond mop of hair bounced over the now open trapdoor, making Marinette jump.

There was a pause when Chat met Marinette's eyes. She could see his ears flatten slightly against his hair, and his eyes darted around her room, only landing on her face occasionally. With a slight blush, Marinette realized she must look like a  _wreck_. There were pretty criers, there were ugly criers, and then there were  _Marinette_ criers, a monstrous category all her own. Mix that with the flurry of emotions that made up this wretched day, and Marinette could understand fully why Chat so desperately wanted to avoid her gaze. She probably looked like all the antagonists from  _Night of the Living Dead_ put together. Somehow, this thought almost made her smile, if only to imagine his discomfort.

Chat cleared his throat, drawing her attention back to him.

"Hello, Mlle Dupain-Cheng!" he rang out through almost clenched teeth. " _Ladybug_  – " Chat paused pointedly and darted his eyes to behind him on the balcony, " – and I are here for a  _date_ , and we'd like to know if you have something  _special_ for Ladybug?"

Uh…what?

_Chat's officially snapped_ , Marinette thought sadly, resisting the urge to shake her head in pity.

His earnest face started to take on an exasperated quality. His eyes shifted again toward the balcony. Marinette still didn't move, completely confused. It was only when Tikki physically pushed Marinette toward the ladder leading out that Marinette found use of her feet. The sight she found there, however, she was completely unprepared for.

Her first thought:  _Is that what I really look like?_

Her next thought…no, that was pretty much it.

Marinette shot out of the door hurriedly and walked straight to the Ladybug lookalike. It was amazing, really, and Marinette, whilst circling around the obvious Akuma (that was  _her FACE_ , what else could it be?), wondered if it would truly be a travesty if she was able to steal a moment to take her own measurements while she had a real life double (measuring yourself accurately is  _hard!_ ).

Chat cleared his throat again.

Marinette looked up from checking the copy-bug's hip size from behind to meet Chat's eyes. His lips were pursed and a hand was on his hip. The other was cocked in the air, a universal gesture for " _Seriously!?_ "

"Oh! Uh…sorry!" Marinette sniffed, wiping the remaining wetness of almost-dried tears from her face and taking a steadying breath. Chat had said something about he and Ladybug…and having something special for Ladybug. "What…uh… What exactly were you hoping for?"

"Mlle Dupain-Cheng, please bring something my little Ladybug here truly  _deserves_."

Mmm. Ok. She could do that.

With a nod in Chat's direction and a playful wink to a bashful Ladybug (what a strange expression to see on her own features), Marinette rushed back into her room.

"What are you going to do, Marinette?" Tikki asked, starting in on her nervous weaving from side to side.

Marinette only smiled as she scanned her room. Grabbing a large cookie (the plate was always there for Tikki) and her umbrella, she ran back up the loft stairs.

"I'm going to give her what she deserves, Tikki," Marinette smirked.

_And Chat, too_ , she added silently.

Marinette burst through the opening to the balcony, getting air from her vault upwards. Seemingly instinctually, Chat moved out of the way as Marinette rushed toward Copy-Bug. As the fake superheroine opened her mouth to scream or protest (Marinette didn't care enough to try to decipher the silent cry), Marinette shoved the cookie as far into the "superheroine's" mouth as she could manage. Before Copy-Bug could even react, the  _real_ Ladybug, though dressed in her civilian skin, was already on her next move. In true Babe Ruth fashion, Marinette swung her frame around before twisted into a powerful enough momentum to bat Copy-Bug off the balcony.

The scream was almost as satisfying as the "oof!" that sounded when the imposter hit the concrete below. A car screeched to a stop. Chat, Marinette noted, didn't even peek over the side.

Chat…

As the word formed in her mind, Marinette felt the tug she was trying to ignore twist painfully, like a hook around her gut linked to her tomcat. On their own accord, her feet ran the few steps her superhero partner, her hands looped around him in a forced hug, and her mouth growled out the only word her brain seemed to supply:

" _Mine_."

qpqpqpqpqp

Chat felt like he had already delved into the land of Misery several times today. Now, though, with a red-eyed Marinette hugging (is that really the right word for this action?) him on her balcony and possessively  _claiming_ him to no one in particular…Chat could see that he hadn't only visited the land of Misery, he had permanently taken up residence there. And maybe even bought a summer home. No, probably a spam-induced time-share he couldn't actually afford but had to pay off anyway.

A whimper may or may not have escaped him at the sheer  _attractiveness_ of the scene that had just played out before him. Adrien was a complete gentleman, but watching Marinette absolutely kicking  _butt_  in Ladybug style was, in a ungentlemanlike word,  _hot_.

"M-Marinette?" Chat tentatively tried coaxing a response – physical or otherwise – from the girl holding him still. He really didn't care at this point if she chose to go transform and capture an Akuma, or if she chucked him off the roof as well – anything would be better than being this close to his lady luck while he still felt so dang  _guilty_. When the girl didn't respond, Chat reached out and pulled her arms from around his waist.

Her face left him completely heartbroken.

Though it seemed like she was done crying for now, Marinette's puffy eyes and round cheeks were red and raw-looking. Splotches traced their way down her neck and on her lithe arms. Her blue eyes were still overly-wet, as if one more emotion would cause the dam there to burst. Chat thought he could see – or perhaps he could clearly imagine – where the tears cut paths down her cheeks and dripped past her chin.

"Oh, Marinette…" Chat whispered, trying not to choke on his own emotions. Regretting drawing Marinette away from the embrace before, he gently pulled her to him again, wrapping his arms around him. "Princess, I – "

" _Princess!?_ "

Oh. Right. Ladyfake.

"Ladybug!" Chat and Marinette sprang away from each other. Chat scratched nervously at a spot behind his neck. Marinette twirled the umbrella around in perfect Chat-like impersonation and put herself into a defensive stance.

Yeah, ok, maybe  _that_ was the hottest thing he'd ever seen.

Ladyfake leapt from her perch on the balcony rail. She cut a beeline to Chat, completely ignoring Marinette. Marinette didn't seem to like that.

"Chat…" Ladyfake was about to touch Chat's cheek like something out of a cheesy romcom scene. (Not that Chat would mind reenacting scenes from romcoms with the real Ladybug.) Chat started to back up, but suddenly another tiny figure moved in between him and his imposter partner.

" _Stay away from him_ ," Marinette snarled.

_Nnnnggg._

_FOCUS CHAT NOIR AND GET YOUR BUTT INTO THIS FIGHT!_

Ladyfake snarled back, and for a moment, Chat looked from one form of Marinette's face to the other and decided that he hoped to goodness he would  _never_ be on the receiving end of  _that_ look of terror.

With a small gulp, Chat realized that he probably very much  _was_ on the receiving end of her wrath, and probably would be face to face with that look toward him very,  _very_ soon.

"Chat Noir is  _mine!_ " Ladyfake almost screamed. This time, the voice sounded strangled, throaty,  _Akumatized_. A suddenly bubbling of purple and black overtook her body while she fixed Marinette with an off-putting stare. At the very last moment, Ladyfake closed her eyes. Chat trailed his eyes down to where the bubbling was dissipating at her feet.

She was wearing pink shoes.

And pink pants…

Ah,  _nuts!_

It  _wasn't_ a Ladyfake – it was a morpho-master!

And the morpho-master had just changed into a very disgruntled, very  _angry_ -looking Mari-fake Dupain-Cheng.

Just as Chat was busy finding similarities and dissimilarities (there was literally  _none,_ the fact only cemented by their matching glares toward each other) between the two Marinettes, Mari-fake surged forward. Chat barely had enough sense left to register that this was still an  _Akuma_ that would really  _hurt_   _his_ Marinette. He leapt between the two, but instead of attacking Mari-fake, Chat found himself unable to bring harm to the perfect semblance of his princess. Instead, he pulled his Marinette to the side before whipping Mari-fake around and spinning her away from the pair.

"What are you doing!?" Marinette yelled at him, struggling against Chat's arms. "This isn't dance class!  _Get_ her!"

"I  _can't_ ," Chat groaned back. "I can't attack you! What if I accidentally hurt  _you_ trying to get Mari-fake?"

The Akumatized girl yowled furiously before flipping and coming toward the pair again. In a swift movement, Chat lifted his Marinette and dropped her through the trapdoor.

"Hey–!"

The rest of Marinette's protest was cut off when the door slapped shut. Immediately afterward, Chat leapt over the side of the balcony.

"You'll never be good enough for me!" Chat called out to Mari-fake. He needed to make sure she wouldn't go after Marinette. And he needed to give Marinette enough time to transform into Ladybug. The jab worked. Mari-fake, looking over the edge, scowled through teary eyes before a tell-tale purple mask circled around her eyes.

Suddenly a red-clad figure appeared burst through the side door of the bakery. Chat scowled.

_Subtle, Mari_ , he thought wryly.

Mari-fake was, thankfully, still discussing something with Hawk Moth and didn't notice Ladybug's conspicuous entrance.

"Chat, what are you waiting for?" Ladybug scolded as she came up next to her leather-clad partner.

"Ladybug, if you think I could possibly –"

Ladybug's stupendous eyeroll caused him pause. He pursed his lips.

"Don't give me that," Chat retorted, bending down to talk to her in her ear. He tried really,  _really_ hard to ignore the way she shivered as he spoke. He also tried really hard to suppress the desire to make it happen again. "I can't do it, Ladybug. Would you be able physically fight  _Adrien_?"

Chat didn't like the scathing look she sent sidelong to him. So, she was still mad at him.

In hindsight, Chat  _really_ should have been paying better attention to what was going on around him. If he had, he probably would have seen a Marinette lookalike barreling from the balcony straight toward him. He also would have been able to leap gracefully out of the way. Unfortunately, he did neither. Without ceremony (as if she may be trying to drive home the point they had just been discussing), Ladybug heaved Chat aside without warning. The force was enough to send him into ungraceful somersaults into the side of the bakery. Dazed for a moment, Chat righted himself, sending his vision of the world right-side-up once more. He dusted himself off, about to simultaneously jump into the brawl and send a quip in Ladybug's direction. At the sight before him, however, he stood, finding himself only able to cock his head to the side and blink stupidly.

Ladybug was fighting…Marinette.

Ok.

This was normal.

He could participate in this. Sure.

Fight with the woman he loved against the woman he loved.

(Oh, if only Hawk Moth knew the irony of this situation.)

"Would you stop thinking of something clever to say and  _get in here_!?"

Chat shot a glare toward the voice. Well, they both had the same voice, so Chat assumed the culprit was Ladybug. Running toward the pair, Chat tried not to join in when Mari-fake seemed to come to his defense.

"Don't talk to him like that! You don't own him!"

Ladybug paused midstep and simply gawked at…herself? A moment later her whole demeanor seemed to crouch in barely-suppressed aggression.

"He's.  _Mine_."

qpqpqpqpqp

Ladybug felt the air whoosh passed her ears as she flipped up and over Copy-Bug (Copy-Mari?). Copy-Mari skidded to a stop below her.

"You could actually  _help,_ you know!" Ladybug shouted back at Chat. While the fight had moved into the park, Chat had stayed by the bakery, inching closer to the arched pillars on the side of the buildings lining the park.

Ladybug shot her yo-yo down toward the victim's head, but Copy-Mari dodged easily. The reverberation as the yo-yo struck the concrete sidewalk sent a temporary tremor up Ladybug's arm. Grimacing at the impact, Ladybug twisted as she landed, allowing the yo-yo to spin freely around her. The string tornado in motion, Ladybug leapt from the epicenter, allowing the string to build in momentum before whipping her arm out toward her now-airborne assailant and tangling her up.

"The Akuma is in her ring!" Chat shouted back. He seemed to have successfully hidden in the shadows provided by the arches.

"Not helpful!" both bluenettes responded.

A tug brought Ladybug's attention back to the Akumatized victim. Copy-Mari wrenched the yo-yo from Ladybug's grasp with surprising ferocity. The fake's blue eyes stared intently at it for a moment before a black bubbling appeared in her other hand. A moment later, Copy-Mari smirked, a replica of Ladybug's yo-yo resting neatly in her upturned palm. Ladybug growled. Copy-Mari then had the audacity to simply throw the stolen yo-yo back to Ladybug. The challenge was in her eyes, and Ladybug readily accepted.

Yo-yo snaps from the enemy peppered the ground around Ladybug's feet. Each pounding motion sent a jolt of annoyance into Ladybug. Ladybug kept just out of reach of each blow, leaping deftly around the park, each hit coming close to her toes but finding no purchase. With a large flip, Ladybug landed on the top of the fountain in a perfect crouch.

"You can't win, Ladybug!" Copy-Mari laughed. She landed at the edge of the fountain. Her spinning yo-yo spun like a shield in her inexperienced but supercharged hands. Ladybug only rolled her eyes.

_Typical_.

"History would prove otherwise," Ladybug lazily quipped back.

When Copy-Mari made to jump up to Ladybug, Ladybug leapt from her post. Her heels pecked Copy-Mari in the forehead. While the victim was distracted (a gratifying splash sounded behind the red-clad superheroine), Ladybug yo-yoed out of the park. As soon as she hit the other side of the roof, she paused, hiding behind the cusp of the curved roof. Her breath came in rasps. Not deep enough to feel like she was lacking in air, but heavy enough to leave her  _feeling_ breathless. She could lie to herself and say that it was because of the fight she had just participated it. It would be justified. But when Chat leapt passed her, the second she took to just watch him vault through the air frozen in her mind, the gesture itself resigned her to admitting the truth. With a zip, she sent out her yo-yo out and pulled a yelp and her cat-boy companion out of the air. When he landed, she pressed a hand over his mouth and drew him in close.

Her heart was beating wildly. She hoped he wouldn't be able to feel it pounding against his back while she held him to her. There wasn't time to ease into a better position, and Ladybug was trying to ignore how her entire sitting frame was hugged around the back of Chat's.

She  _could_  chalk up these feelings to the "hypnosis" crap going on. And maybe a good portion of it could take that blame. But Ladybug was a master secret-keeper. She was practiced. And while she was usually open with people she loved, even Tikki didn't know about the secret she kept closest to her heart.

To  _her_ it made sense why Adrien, as Chat Noir, was especially attractive to her. To  _her_ , it made sense why she would drop everything and chase the cat-boy around Paris, especially when unwittingly commanded to do so.

Maybe some part of her mind had been so open to act on her crush's request in chasing Chat Noir because it gave her an excuse to reveal those hidden feelings.

A moment's inhale and exhale, and Ladybug and Chat Noir froze as Copy-Mari yo-yoed up and passed them, delving deeper into the streets of Paris.

Ladybug quickly stood and whipped Chat up and around to face her.

She  _didn't_ take note of the suddenly ascertained height difference.

She  _didn't_ look into his bright green, innocent eyes.

She  _didn't_ notice his pinked cheeks.

She  _didn't_ flick her gaze to his lips.

And she  _wasn't_ leaning in closer. And closer.

_That_ would be irresponsible. One of Hawk Moth's villains was loose in the streets. They should be hatching a plan, not snogging. Not that she was thinking about that…about how he looked just so…inviting….

"Ladybug…" Chat whispered to her.

She felt a grip on her shoulders, a strength beyond hers keeping her at an arm's distance from her cat.

"What?" Ladybug snapped accusingly before leaning even closer. She growled at the pressure pushing her back.

"Ladybug, now is  _not_ the time for… _this_."

Ladybug's eyes snapped open and she glowered at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Chat scoffed. "Sure you don't."

Like he had a right to do that!

Ladybug got right up in his face (well, as much as a more-than-a-foot-shorter person could hope for).

"LUCKY CHAAARRRM!" she shouted as loud as she could.

If it had been an anime show, Chat's features would have rippled in the blast from her outburst. Smirking, Ladybug reached into the air for the object dropping down. A scarf? Maybe…but the material was soft and silken. A blindfold! Copy-Bug/-Mari had to  _see_ something in order to claim it, or to transform into it, so if they could cover her eyes –

"Chat! I have a pla–pfft."

Chat was still rubbing his cat ears from her outburst. The look was endearing to her, and it annoyed her to think about that. While he was distracted, Ladybug reached down and yanked on his tail, satisfied with the resulting yowl.

"You tracked her, right?"

Chat grumbled and pulled out his baton, flashing the screen to Ladybug. A purple blip flashed close by their location on the little GPS. Ladybug studied the screen for a moment before slapping a hand on Chat's head and roughly ruffling his sunny hair.

qpqpqpqpqp

"HHHIIII-YYYAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

A shuddering blast, a tremor through the city streets covered in billowing dust.

The shapeshifting Akuma victim had collapsed to her knees. She was a mess. She wore gloves in the same pattern of Ladybug's suit paired with Marinette's signature outfit – though considerably more torn up than Marinette usually wore it. A mimicry of Chat Noir's leather ears perched on top of her head. It was pieces of all of the things "Changling" had transformed into. Now Ladybug stood over the banged-up victim, holding a store-bought Chat Noir lookalike ring. Her chest was heaving from exertion; apparently fighting against yourself (so-to-speak) was more of a workout than perhaps one would think.

It didn't help that Chat may have stepped out every time the fight was against a Marinette or Ladybug lookalike.

"Time to de-evilize!"

Chat looked on for the second time in the last 24 hours as Ladybug caught the wicked butterfly before releasing it in its purified form. In the dark of the just-set sun, Chat watched in awe as the Miraculous Cure followed immediately, lighting up all the features on Ladybug's face. The bubbling around the Akumatized victim brought him back to reality. What surprised him most, though, was the teary expression still on the young girl's face.

And really, Chat Noir tried  _really hard_ not to hear the conversation she struck up with Ladybug as Ladybug reached down to give her back the Chat Noir ring.

"You don't deserve him."

While these words had shocked Chat enough to turn and start to walk toward the pair of females, the next sentence caused him the biggest surprise.

"You're right," Ladybug sighed.

"I am?"

Ladybug looked straight at the small girl and dropped down to sit cross-legged in front of her. While the response was a surprise to Chat, it seemed to pale in comparison to the reaction from the Chat Noir fan. Ladybug seemed to notice as well. She chuckled halfheartedly.

"Yes," Ladybug responded. Her tone was resolute; there was no hint of sarcasm, no mark of dislike. "He's always been open about his feelings, but I never was – not even to my crush."

" _You_ have a crush? Isn't Chat Noir your crush?"

"Yes and…yes, though he wasn't always." Ladybug looked down and fiddled with the ring the girl had refused to take from her offering fingers. "There's a boy who's been my crush for three long years. And because I was so focused on that boy, I never spared a glance for my best friend." Ladybug's eyes flicked pointedly in Chat's direction. "Now I can only hope I still have a chance. He deserves to be loved unconditionally. He won't say it, but it means a lot to him that he has as devoted supporters as you out there cheering for him."

"Yeah?" the girl asked, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Absolutely," Ladybug answered, offering a warm albeit shaky smile. She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and offered the ring to her again. This time, the girl took it, staring intently at it while twirling it through her fingers.

"I'm so embarrassed," she finally conceded in a trembling voice.

"I won't tell you to not be embarrassed, because everyone feels different things, whether we  _want_ to or not. But I will say that this isn't  _uncommon_. You did nothing wrong. You were taken advantage of in the worst way possible." Ladybug chuckled again. "And think of it this way…Chat Noir now knows he has at least one devoted fan in this city." Then, in a lower voice, "Plus, how else would you be able to take the coolest selfie with a superhero ever?"

At this statement, the girl's head popped up, cheeks turning rosy under watery streaks.

"Let me tell you a secret," Ladybug continued in a hushed tone. "Well, two secrets. Chat Noir gives the best hugs. It's true! And the second secret? He really does take the best selfies." The girl smiled. "But don't tell him that, or I will have 200 more picture on my phone by the midnight."

This elicited a laugh from the girl and from the leather-clad superhero looking on fondly.

Ladybug and her companion looked up at the cat-boy.

"You were eavesdropping!"

Oops.

"I did no such thing!"

"Liar!" Ladybug wrapped an arm around the girl as they both stood to face the boy in black. They all laughed after a moment. Chat Noir was totally taken in by the free expression on Ladybug's mirthful features. His heart felt like it was swelling at the fond look in her eyes.

Chat Noir suddenly bowed low.

"Forgive me, ladies. How shall I repay thee?"

A pressure on his backside startled him slightly. When he looked up, Ladybug was shoving his baton in his face.

"I think you owe this fine lady a hug and two-hundred-and- _one_  selfies. Sent to the Ladyblog." Chat started to splutter a protest. "Nuh-uh! No arguing, Pussycat."

The beeping in her earrings, which she had been ignoring, started in earnest now. She immediately rushed off, waving a goodbye to her two companions.

As she rounded the corner, the real Marinette appeared in a flash of pink.

"Well,  _this_ has been an exciting day!" Tikki zoomed out and into the open bag at Marinette's side where her private stash of quarter-sized Tikki cookies awaited her.

"You can say that again, Tikki."

Marinette slumped down against the wall. Pulling out her phone, she sent a few messages out before laying her head back to rest until her Kitty was done.

**To Mom:** I got caught up in the akuma attack but I'm ok! It looked like ME maman! I'm by the tower walking home be home soon love you *heart*

**To Alya:** so weird day today, right? heh…

**To Alya:** I will do an interview? *a line of embarrassed emojis*

**To Alya:** and Chat may or may not be sending you some selfies to put onto the Ladyblog *shy face**winking cat emoji*

**To Nino:** I hope you guys are good

**To Nino:** good luck with Al

**To Adrien:** meet me at home? anytime

**To Adrien:** MY home, not like, OUR home that's not what I meant I meant MY home

**To Adrien:** and not anytime a girl needs her beauty sleep ;)

**To Adrien:** …

**To Adrien:** I BLAME YOU FOR THE WINKY FACE

qpqpqpqpqp

It was passed midnight before Chat made his way to visit the princess in her tower. Normally he would never dream of going so late, but Marinette's last text was sent only five minutes ago asking for him…and how could he say no?

It had taken a little patchwork to get his string of stories past Nathalie and his father for his unaccounted whereabouts that day. Thankfully, for story purposes, there were two Akuma attacks, and they already knew about the project he was supposed to be working on with Marinette. Really, he should count himself lucky…he only had to endure a supervised double practice session on the piano for missing his fencing class that afternoon. Because it had gone so late, Adrien hadn't been able to properly check his phone until he entered his room at 11:30. Nathalie had started to come check on him at night "just in case", which meant having to go through his nightly routine and feigning sleep before all of his babysitters would finally leave him alone.

As his boots landed silently on the roof of his favorite bakery, however, and he spied the baker's daughter there waiting for him, he decided that he could be babysat for the next hundred years and he wouldn't complain a bit, as long as he was able to see this sight every night. The implications of this attractive thought caused a blush to rise in his cheeks. And he hadn't even talked to the girl yet.

Chat hung from the railing around the balcony, feet planted firmly on the roof below. It was a safe distance. His hands and heart really,  _really_ wanted to be closer, but for goodness' sakes,  _Chat Noir was a gentleman!_

Marinette stretched, her arms peeking out from under the fluffy blanket she had been resting under.

"You're a little late,  _minou_ ," she said through a yawn. "Didn't a tell you I need my beauty sleep?"

Chat grinned. "As if you could get any more beautiful."

Marinette shook her head, smiling sleepily at him. She exited her blanket, revealing pajamas that broke Chat's stoic features into laughter.

" _Nice_ ," he chortled merrily, looking the girl up and down ( _just_ to check out her pajamas, nothing more). "Very subtle. I hope you don't wear those in public."

The shirt was red. A ladybug mask was printed at the top, and below it read "Simply the BEST". The pants were the same shade of red and were peppered with polka dots.

"Honestly, I'm surprised the spots aren't in the same  _spots_  as  _your_ spots are."

Marinette came and leaned against the railing, looking down at the black cat.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Chat arched a brow. Marinette tried to frown through a smile.

"I bought these. And yes, it bothers me to no end, but I love them anyway. And  _no,_ I don't wear them in public.  _You_ are the only one that's ever seen them, and you will only ever be the one to see me in these…er…"

Apparently she and Chat were working on the same subconscious wavelength.

Again, Chat felt the heat burning through his neck and his real ears, having moved on past his cheeks just on her walk over to him. Chat closed his eyes, shaking his head. He was trying – and failing – to shake his hair enough to feel the cool air flow across his face. It was a poor idea at best, but Chat was honestly starting to overheat.

A snort made him crack an eye open. Marinette had taken her hands off the railing and covered her mouth. Whether it was from the slip-up earlier or due to his own uncomfortableness, he wasn't sure, until she burst out laughing a moment later.

"It's not that funny," he grumbled at her. She only continued to laugh.

"It kinda is."

"I didn't laugh at you!"

She gave him a skeptical look.

"…Out loud?"

Marinette snorted. Chat smirked.

"You know I can't lie to you, Princess."

"No, just  _hypnotize_  me." Ladybug gave him an arch look. Chat must have looked decently embarrassed. Marinette relented and dropped her hard gaze. With a softer expression, she set her elbows on the railing, leaning down to rest her head on her hands. It brought her ridiculously close to him.

"I really  _hate_ how attracted I am to you right now."

Surprisingly, those were  _Marinette's_ words.

Chat could not hold back the impish grin. When he suddenly moved his face closer to her, she may or may not have "meep"-ed in a very cute way. Their noses touched, and Chat brushed his own back and forth against hers. Marinette sighed theatrically.

"Is it wrong to say that I am loving this just a  _little_ bit?" Chat asked in a low voice. Something warm hit him fiercely in the gut when Marinette let out a sound between a growl and a whimper.

" _Yes_ , Chat. Yes it  _is_."

The next moment his forehead was on her shoulder. His frame was shaking. Would she think he was crying? For the love of Pete, he hoped not, but he didn't dare look at her pretty eyes when he was trying so hard not to laugh in her face.

Marinette had stiffened under his initial touch. Now, though, she pushed him back by his forehead.

"You are  _awful!_ " she cried, and Chat only laughed harder when he saw the mirth dancing like fire behind her irritated façade.

"I  _hypnotized_  you, Ladybug. Oh my  _gosh_ , I really  _hypnotized_ you! And here I thought I was just some sudden chick magnet."

"You know, Chat, magnets  _repel_ just as much as they attract."

Chat only continued to chuckle. He needed to feel her though…and she didn't resist when he pressed his forehead against hers. Instead she rubbed her nose gently against his own.

"I can't believe I thought you were cool, Adrien Agreste."

They stayed like that for a moment. There was a reassurance in their touch; Marinette let out a sigh, the warmth from her breath giving the effect of what Chat imagined embodied whispers would feel like on his lips.

"Mari…" Chat broke the comfortable silence. Marinette shivered, and Chat didn't think it was because of the cold. It took him a moment to catch his bearings again. "What you heard at Alya's...that's  _not_ how it sounded."

Marinette grunted noncommittedly before sighing again.

"What, you mean like how it sounded like you had no real desire for all of  _this_?" Opening her eyes and pulling away slightly, Marinette lazily gestured to her entire self.

A terrible something knotted inside Chat's stomach. Where there was once warmth, ice seemed to freeze over.

Did she really think…? Was she being serious?

Call it his inner cat. Call it predatorial instinct. Call it just being a maybe-slightly-possessive male.

In a moment, Chat had jumped the balcony rail and landed in a crouch. He spun around to a startled Marinette, whom he pulled down to sit on the ground in front of him.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng," he started, face so close he could see every shade of blue in her darkened eyes. "Be mad at me – you have every right to be, believe me – but trust me when I say this: I've desired  _ALL THIS_  every  _minute_ of every  _day_  since the moment I saw you parachute off the Eifel Tower." His gaze dropped for a moment. When he spoke again, his words were barely above a whisper. "And when I found out you were Marinette, I felt  _so_ inadequate. How could I  _ever_ deserve you?" He took a rattling breath. "Every day is an agonizing, exhilarating experience since I met you."

A rattling breath passed through his lips as turned away from her. He stood abruptly, pulling Marinette up with him, before jumping back to the safe zone on the other side of the banister.

"And about Alya's…" Chat spoke a little louder, catching Marinette's gaze once more. "Call me old-fashioned, but as much as I want to kiss you – which is, really, like, a  _lot_ , like a  _lot_ a lot – " He cleared his throat. "Anyway, I, uh, I just wanted to take you on a date first."

Marinette had gone quiet. Chat suddenly felt embarrassed at having effective trapped her during his little speech. As was his norm, he reached back with one hand to nervously scratch at the base of his neck. But…she needed to know. She needed to understand…

She was absolutely  _everything_  to him.

"Do you trust me?" Marinette asked suddenly.

They both seemed surprised at this question. Marinette bit her lip, eyes darting away for a moment.

Before Chat could reply, however, Marinette reached out to him and placed a hand on either side of his face. Chat stiffen under her touch, but she only smiled. Chat gulped.

Gently, Marinette brushed her lips against the skin right next to his own lips. Chat couldn't stop the tremble that seemed to take over his body. The next kiss was a little closer to his jaw. Then one right under the line of his mask. One last one on his nose.

Feeling like he was about to pass out, Chat felt Marinette smile against his cheek before nuzzling her face against his in a very  _feline_ show of affection.

"It's kinda late tonight…" she whispered in his ear. "But I'm free tomorrow."

Chat's legs seemed to finally give out, and he fell off the roof.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Show of hands, who thinks Adrien will be able to deal at school tomorrow? (8  
> On a TOTALLY UNRELATED NOTE, the next chapter will leaning more toward that "T" rating. Heh... (3  
> ...  
> WOO BOY THIS WAS LONG. It's 3 am here, and HERE YOU GO! It's not perfect, but…I hope it's good enough! n.n  
> So, question…next chapter is going to be some Adrienette, and obviously we have some main story points to still cover and whatnot…but is there anything you'd like to see/read? Kwami interactions, DJ/WIFI, bonus scenes, more Akuma, etc. Usually I have everything planned out, buuuut…I like extra stuff. :D  
> ...  
> THANK YOU for all of the Kudos, subscribes, bookmarks, and comments!!! You seriously have made my whole week. I appreciate it, really, and I treasure each comment you leave (I usually answer EVERY SINGLE ONE but I haven't had time yet - but I haven't forgotten yoooouuu!)  
> THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! n.n You are awesome!  
> And I'm hoping this will be pretty...extensive. There's a lot of fun character development coming!  
> And I don't swear here or anything, but I did rate it T for any 'kiss-kiss' scenes.  
> ...Cause I like, you know, _tension_. Heh, heh. 8)
> 
> If you leave a comment, I will converse!  
> Leave suggestions - I love them!  
> And I love YOU, Random Citizen! 8)  
> -Maki
> 
> (Disclaimer: I do not own "Miraculous!: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir" or any of its characters.)  
> (Also posted on FanFiction.net.)
> 
> (The hypnosis how-to stuff in Ch. 1 is quoted from "How to Hypnotize Your Friends" on WikiHow. The definition for "animal magnetism" is from dictionary.com.)


End file.
